J 


T 


.'7 


o 


The  Bread  Line 


The  Bread  Line 

A  Story  of  a  Paper 


By 


Albert  Bigelow  Paine 


New  York 

The  Century  Co, 

1900 


Copyright,  1899, 
By  THE  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  Co. 

,    a    Copyright,  1900, 
<*f  •  BV  THE  CENTURY  Co. 


THE  DEVINNE  PRESS. 


To  Those  Who  have  Started 
Papers,  to  Those  Who  have 
Thought  of  Starting  Pa 
pers,  and  to  Those  Who  are 
Thinking  of  Starting  Papers. 


M15320 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     THE  FIRST  DINNER    ....  i 

II     FRISBY'S  SCHEME 15 

III  A  LETTER  FROM  THE  "DEAREST   GIRL 

IN  THE  WORLD,"  OTHERWISE  Miss 
DOROTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND,  TO 
MR.  TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW 
YORK 29 

IV  SOME  PREMIUMS 36 

V  A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  Miss  DOR 
OTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND  .  52 

VI     CASH  FOR  NAMES 61 

VII  A  LETTER  FROM  Miss  DOROTHY  CASTLE 
OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR.  TRUMAN 
LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK  .  .  84 

VIII     THE  COURSE  OF  EVENTS       ...         92 
IX    IN  THE  SANCTUM        ....  108 

X    A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  Miss  DOR 
OTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND      .        .        116 
ix 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XI    THE  GENTLE  ART  OF  ADVERTISING 

XII  A  LETTER  FROM  Miss  DOROTHY 
CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW 
YORK 

XIII  THE  HOUR  OF  DARK  FOREBODING 

XIV  A  LETTER  FROM   MR.  TRUMAN   LIV 

INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO   Miss 
DOROTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

XV    FINAL  STRAWS         .... 
XVI    AT  THE  END  OF  THE  RAINBOW 

XVII  A  TELEGRAM  FROM  Miss  DOROTHY 
CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW 
YORK 

XVIII    GRABBING  AT  STRAWS 

XIX  A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIV 
INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  Miss 
DOROTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

XX    THE  BARK  OF  THE  WOLF  . 
XXI    THE  LETTER  LIVINGSTONE  READ  . 
XXII    THE  BREAD  LINE        .... 

XXIII  THE  LAST  LETTER  — TO  MR.  AND 
MRS.  TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE,  OLD 
POINT  COMFORT,  VIRGINIA  . 


PAGE 
125 


144 

149 

I58 
I65 
I76 


I87 

188 


196 
204 
209 
214 

227 


The  Bread  Line 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XI    THE  GENTLE  ART  OF  ADVERTISING 

XII  A  LETTER  FROM  Miss  DOROTHY 
CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW 
YORK 

XIII  THE  HOUR  OF  DARK  FOREBODING 

XIV  A  LETTER  FROM   MR.  TRUMAN   LIV 

INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  Miss 
DOROTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

XV    FINAL  STRAWS         .... 
XVI    AT  THE  END  OF  THE  RAINBOW 

XVII  A  TELEGRAM  FROM  Miss  DOROTHY 
CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW 
YORK 

XVIII    GRABBING  AT  STRAWS 

XIX  A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIV 
INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  Miss 
DOROTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

XX    THE  BARK  OF  THE  WOLF  . 
XXI    THE  LETTER  LIVINGSTONE  READ  . 
XXII    THE  BREAD  LINE        .... 

XXIII  THE  LAST  LETTER  — TO  MR.  AND 
MRS.  TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE,  OLD 
POINT  COMFORT,  VIRGINIA  . 


PAGE 
125 


144 
149 

I58 
I65 
I76 


I87 

188 


196 
204 
209 
214 

227 


The  Bread  Line 


The  Bread  Line 


THE    FIRST    DINNER 

THIS  is  the  story  of  a  year,  beginning 
on  New  Year's  eve. 

In  the  main  it  is  the  story  of  four — two 
artists  and  two  writers — and  of  a  paper 
which  these  four  started.  Three  of  them  — 
the  artists  and  one  of  the  writers — toiled 
and  dwelt  together  in  rooms  near  Union 
Square,  and  earned  a  good  deal  of  money 
sometimes,  when  matters  went  well.  The 
fourth — the  other  writer — did  something 
in  an  editorial  way,  and  thus  had  a  fixed 
income;  that  is,  he  fixed  it  every  Saturday 
in  such  manner  that  it  sometimes  lasted 
until  Wednesday  of  the  following  week. 
Now  and  then  he  sold  a  story  or  a  poem 


2  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"  outside "  and  was  briefly  affluent,  but 
these  instances  were  unplentiful.  Most  of 
his  spare  time  he  spent  in  dreaming  vague 
and  hopeless  dreams.  His  dreams  he  be 
lieved  in,  and,  being  possessed  of  a  mes 
meric  personality,  Barrifield  sometimes 
persuaded  others  to  believe  also. 

It  began—  the  paper  above  mentioned 
—  in  the  cafe  of  the  Hotel  Martin,  pro 
nounced  with  the  French  "tang,"  and  a 
good  place  to  get  a  good  dinner  on  New 
Year's  eve  or  in  any  other  season  except 
that  of  adversity,  no  recollection  of  which 
period  now  vexed  the  mind  of  the  man 
who  did  something  in  an  editorial  way,  or 
those  of  the  two  artists  and  the  writer  who 
worked  and  dwelt  together  in  rooms  near 
Union  Square.  In  fact,  that  era  of  pros 
perity  which  began  in  New  York  for 
most  bohemians  in  the  summer  of  '96 
was  still  in  its  full  tide,  and  these  three 
had  been  caught  and  borne  upward  on  a 
crest  that  as  yet  gave  no  signs  of  undertow 
and  oblivion  beneath.  But  Barrifield,  still 
editing  at  his  old  salary,  had  grown  uneasy 
and  begun  to  dream  dreams.  He  did  not 


THE    FIRST    DINNER  3 

write  with  ease,  and  his  product,  though 
not  without  excellence,  was  of  a  sort  that 
found  market  with  difficulty  in  any  season 
and  after  periods  of  tedious  waiting.  He 
had  concluded  to  become  a  publisher. 

He  argued  that  unless  publishers  were 
winning  great  fortunes  they  could  not 
afford  to  pay  so  liberally  for  their  wares. 

He  had  been  himself  authorized  to  pay 
as  much  as  fifteen  cents  per  word  for  the 
product  of  a  certain  pen.  He  forgot,  or 
in  his  visions  refused  to  recognize,  the 
possibility  of  this  being  the  result  of  com 
petition  in  a  field  already  thickly  trampled 
by  periodicals,  many  of  them  backed  by 
great  capital  and  struggling,  some  of  them 
at  a  frightful  loss,  toward  the  final  and  in 
evitable  survival  of  the  richest.  As  for 
his  companions,  they  were  on  the  out 
side,  so  to  speak,  and  swallowed  stories 
of  marvelous  circulations  and  advertising 
rates  without  question.  Not  that  Barrifield 
was  untruthful.  Most  of  what  he  told 
them  had  come  to  him  on  good  authority. 
If,  in  the  halo  of  his  conception  and  the 
second  bottle  of  champagne,  he  forgot 


4  THE   BREAD    LINE 

other  things  that  had  come  to  him  on 
equally  good  authority,  he  was  hardly  to 
be  blamed.  We  all  do  that,  more  or  less, 
in  unfolding  our  plans,  and  Barrifield  was 
uncommonly  optimistic. 

He  had  begun  as  he  served  the  roast. 
Previous  to  this,  as  is  the  habit  in  bohemia, 
they  had  been  denouncing  publishers  and 
discussing  work  finished,  in  hand,  and 
still  to  do ;  also  the  prices  and  competition 
for  their  labors.  The  interest  in  Barrifield's 
skill  at  serving,  however,  had  brought  a  lull, 
and  the  champagne  a  golden  vapor  that  was 
fraught  with  the  glory  of  hope.  It  was 
the  opportune  moment.  The  publication 
of  the  "  Whole  Family  "  may  be  said  to 
have  dated  from  that  hour. 

Barrifield  spoke  very  slowly,  pausing  at 
the  end  of  each  sentence  to  gather  himself 
for  the  next.  Sometimes  he  would  fill  a 
plate  as  he  deliberated.  At  other  times 
he  would  half  close  his  eyes  and  seem  to 
be  piercing  far  into  the  depths  of  a  roseate 
future. 

"  Boys,"  he  began,  in  a  voice  that  was 
fraught  with  possibility,  and  selecting  a 


THE    FIRST    DINNER  5 

particularly  tender  cut  for  Perncr,  who 
was  supposed  to  have  an  estate  some 
where,  "boys,"  — he  laid  the  tempting 
slice  on  Perner's  plate,  added  a  few  mush 
rooms,  some  brown  gravy,  and  a  generous 
spoonful  of  potato,  then  passing  the  plate 
to  Perner  and  beginning  to  fill  another, — 
"  I  've  been  thinking  of — of  a — of  the  — 
greatest " —pausing  and  looking  across 
the  table  with  drowsy,  hypnotic  eyes — 
"  the  greatest  scheme  on — earth  !  " 

Amid    the    silence   that    followed    this 
announcement  he  served   the  next   plate. 
Then  Van  Dorn,  who  had  been  acquainted 
with  him  longer  than  the  others,  spoke : 
"  What  is  it  this  time,  old  man?  " 
Barrifield  turned  his  gaze  on  Van  Dorn 
and  laughed  lazily.      He   was   handsome, - 
rather  stout,  and  of  unfailing  good  nature. 
He  pushed  back  his  blond  hair  and  rested 
his  gray,   magnetic   eyes  steadily   on  the 
artist.    Then  he  laughed  again  and  seemed 
to  enjoy  it.     Van  Dorn,  who  was  slender, 
impulsive,  and  wore  glasses,  laughed,  too, 
and   was   lost.      Barrifield   handed   him   a 
filled  plate  as  he  said : 


6  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"You  're  just  right,  Van,  to  say  this 
time — just  right.  There  have  been — 
other  times;  other — times."  He  was  fill 
ing  the  third  plate.  He  paused  and 
laughed  till  he  shook  all  over.  "  Van 
remembers  a  pictorial  syndicate  he  and  I 
once  started,"  he  said  to  Livingstone,  as 
he  handed  his  plate.  "  We  spent  nearly 
— nearly  a  thousand  dollars  and  a  lot  of 
time — that  is,  Van  did — getting  up  some 
stuff,  and  then  sold  one  picture  to  one 
paper  for  three  dollars!" 

He  leaned  back  in  his  chair  to  enjoy  a 
laugh,  in  which,  this  time,  all  joined. 

"And  never  got  the  three  dollars," 
added  Van  Dorn,  at  last. 

"  And  never  got  the  three  dollars," 
echoed  Barrifield.  "  It  was  a  beautiful 
scheme,  too ;  Van  knows  that — beauti 
ful!"  At  which  statement  all  laughed 
again. 

Barrifield  began  to  furnish  his  own  plate 
now,  and  became  serious. 

"This  scheme  is  different,"  he  observed 
at  last ;  "  it  's  been  tried.  It  's  been  tried 
and  it  has  n't.  The  scheme  that  's  been 


THE    FIRST    DINNER  7 

tried  " — he  helped  himself  to  the  rest  of  the 
mushrooms  and  gravy — "  we  '11  improve 
on." 

The  others  caught  the  collective  pro 
noun,  and  began  to  feel  the  pleasant  sense 
of  ownership  that  comes  with  the  second 
bottle  and  a  scheme. 

"  Our  scheme  will  beat  it  to  death." 
He  lowered  his  voice  and  shot  a  cautious 
glance  at  the  other  tables.  "  Boys,"  he 
whispered,  "  it  's  a  JiigJi-class  weekly  at  a 
low  price  !  " 

He  looked  from  one  to  the  other  to  note 
the  effect  of  this  startling  announcement. 
It  was  hardly  manifest.  The  three  seemed 
to  be  eating  more  or  less  industriously  and 
without  much  care  of  anything  else.  They 
were  thinking,  however. 

"  It  's  a  field,"  observed  Perner,  at  last. 

"  Ztorr/field,"  said  Van  Dorn,  who  some 
times  made  puns. 

Barrifield  became  excited.  He  did  this 
now  and  then. 

"Field!  It  's  the  field,"  he  declared 
fiercely — "  the  only  field!  Everything 
else  is  full.  There  's  a  ten-cent  monthly 


8  THE    BREAD    LINE 

in  every  block  in  New  York!  And"  — 
whispering  hoarsely — "  even  then  they  're 
getting  rich!  Rich!  But  there  's  only 
one  high-class  family  weekly  at  less  than 
four  dollars  in  the  country,  and  that  's  a 
juvenile  !  What  I  propose  " — he  was  talk 
ing  fast  enough  now — "  is  to  establish  a 
high-class  family  weekly — for  the  whole 
family — at  one  dollar  a  year  !  " 

He  paused  again.  His  words  had  not 
been  without  effect  this  time.  The  three 
listeners  knew  thoroughly  the  field  of  peri 
odicals,  and  that  no  such  paper  as  he  pro 
posed  existed.  His  earnestness  and  eager 
whisper  carried  a  certain  weight,  and  then, 
as  I  have  said  before,  he  was  strangely 
persuasive.  Perner,  who  had  once  been 
engaged  in  business,  and  had,  by  some 
rare  fortune,  kept  out  of  the  bankruptcy 
court,  was  first  to  speak.  His  "  ten  years' 
successful  business  experience,"  which  he 
referred  to  on  occasion,  gave  his  opinion 
value  in  matters  of  finance,  though  at  pres 
ent  he  was  finding  it  no  easy  problem  to 
keep  up  with  the  taxes  on  a  certain  tract 
of  vacant  property  located  rather  vaguely 


THE    FIRST    DINNER  9 

somewhere  in  the  Southwest  and  repre 
senting  the  residue  of  his  commercial  tri 
umphs.  He  was  a  tall,  large-featured 
man,  cleanly  shaven,  and,  like  Van  Dorn, 
wore  glasses. 

"  Can  you  do  it,  Barry?  "  he  said,  look 
ing  up  with  an  expression  of  wise  and  deep 
reflection.  "  Won't  it  cost  you  more  than 
that  to  get  up  the  paper?" 

"  That,"  observed  Barrifield,  calmly,  "  is 
the  case  with  every  great  magazine  in  the 
country.  The  paper  and  printing  cost 
more  than  they  get  for  it." 

"  They  make  it  out  of  the  advertising, 
you  know,"  put  in  Livingstone,  timidly. 

Livingstone  was  younger  than  the 
others,  and  had  a  smooth,  fresh  face. 

"'  Of  course,"  snapped  Perner ;  "  I  know 
that!  But  they  've  got  to  have  circula 
tion  before  they  can  get  the  advertising, 
and  it  takes  time  and  money — barrels  of 
it — to  get  circulation." 

"  We  '11  furnish  the  time,"  suggested 
Van  Dorn,  sawing  at  his  meat,  "  if  Barry  '11 
put  up  the  capital." 

Barrifield  looked  up  quickly. 


jo  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"I  '11  do  it!"  he  announced  eagerly; 
"I  '11  do  it!" 

The  others  showed  immediate  interest. 
Barrifield  looked  from  one  to  the  other, 
repeating  his  assertion  as  if  signing  a  ver 
bal  contract.  Then  his  gaze  wandered  off 
into  nowhere,  and  he  absently  fed  himself 
and  waited  for  the  spirit  to  move  further. 

"  I  '11  furnish  the  capital,"  he  continued 
deliberately,  at  length,  "  and  it  won't  be 
money,  either."  The  three  faces  watch 
ing  him  fell.  "  That  is,  not  much  money. 
It  '11  take  a  little,  of  course.  I  think  I  know 
where  I  could  get  all  the  money  I  want — a 
dozen  places,  yes,  fifty  of  them.  But  this 
is  n't  a  money  scheme.  If  it  was  I  could 
get  it.  I  know  any  number  of  men,  capi 
talists,  that  would  jump  at  it.  But  that 
is  n't  what  we  want.  We  want  men  who 
know  what  a  paper  is,  and  can  do  the 
work  themselves." 

"  We  want  a  good  advertising  man  first," 
said  Perner  the  businesslike. 

"That  's  good  sense,"  assented  Barri 
field,  at  which  Perner  felt  complimented 
and  began  to  assume  proprietary  airs. 


THE    FIRST   DINNER  u 

''Those  things  we  can  hire,"  Barrifield 
continued.  "  We  shall  want  several  men 
in  clerical  and  executive  positions.  The 
general  direction  and  management  of 
affairs  we  shall,  of  course,  attend  to  per 
sonally.  We  could  get  a  business  man 
ager  with  all  the  money  we  need  if  we 
wanted  him,  but  he  'd  be  some  fellow  with 
no  appreciation  of  the  kind  of  a  paper  we 
intend  to  make,  and  would  try  to  cut  down 
and  stick  to  old  methods  until  he  choked 
the  plan,  just  as  many  a  good  plan  has 
been  killed  before." 

The  third  bottle  of  champagne  had  been 
opened. 

"  That 's  exactly  right,"  declared  Perner, 
as  he  lifted  his  glass,  while  the  others 
nodded.  "  Half  the  periodicals  running 
to-day  are  starved  and  killed  by  the  busi 
ness  office.  Why,  Mac  Williams  of  '  Dawn  ' 
told  me  yesterday  that  he  could  n't  buy 
that  Easter  poem  of  mine  just  because 
there  had  been  a  kick  down-stairs  on  the 
twenty- five  he  paid  me  for  the  Christmas 
thing,  and  —  " 

"What  's  your  scheme,  Barry?"  inter- 


12  THE    BREAD    LINE 

rupted  Van  Dorn,  who  did  not  want  Perner 
to  get  started  on  the  perennial  subject  of 
editorial  wrongs. 

Barrifield  filled  his  glass  and  drained  it 
very  slowly.  Then  he  set  it  down  and 
wiped  his  lips  with  his  napkin.  The  waiter 
brought  coffee  and  cigars.  He  selected  a 
long,  dark  Panetela,  and  lighted  it  with  the 
air  of  one  making  ready  to  unburden  him 
self  of  deep  wisdom. 

"  Did  any  of — you — fellows,"  he  began, 
puffing  the  smoke  into  the  air  and  follow 
ing  it  with  his  eyes,  "  ever  hear  of  a  man 
named  Frisby?  Did  you,  Perny?  Did 
you,  Stony?"  dropping  his  eyes  from  one 
to  the  other. 

"I  have,"  said  Van  Dorn.  "Runs  a 
paper  called  the  '  Voice  of  Light,'  with 
prize  packages  and  the  worst  illustrations 
in  the  world." 

"That  's  the  man!"  assented  Barrifield. 
"  Old  friend  of  mine.  Yankee  by  birth, 
and  one  of  the  keenest  publishers  in  the 
country.  That  paper,  the  '  Voice  of 
Light,'  has  a  circulation  of  nearly  one 
half-million  copies  !  " 


THE    FIRST    DINNER  13 

"  He  ought  to  get  better  pictures,  then," 
grunted  Van  Dorn. 

"Exactly!"  nodded  Barrifield.  "And 
that  's  one  place  we  '11  improve  on  Frisby's 
scheme." 

"  I  did  n't  suppose  religious  papers  ever 
had  schemes,"  observed  Livingstone. 

Barrifield  grinned. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  copy  of  the 
'  Voice  '  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  have,"  said  Perner.  "  It  offers 
twenty-five  dollars'  worth  of  books  and  a 
trip  to  the  Holy  Land  for  one  year's  sub 
scription." 

"That  's  it!  That  's  the  paper!" 
laughed  Barrifield. 

"  But  our  paper  won't  be  a  religious 
paper,  will  it,  old  man?"  asked  Living 
stone,  anxiously. 

"  Not  in  the  sense  of  being  ecclesiastic. 
It  will  be  pure  in  morals  and  tone,  of 
course,  and,  at  the  same  time,  artistic  and 
beautiful — such  a  paper  as  the  '  Youth's 
Friend,'  only  larger  in  its  scope.  It  will, 
as  I  have  said  before,  appeal  to  the  whole 
family,  young  and  old,  and  that  is  another 


14  THE   BREAD    LINE 

improvement  we  '11  make  on  Frisby's 
scheme." 

"  What  's  the  price  of  Frisby's  paper?  " 
asked  Perner. 

"Two  dollars  a  year.  Poor  matter, 
poor  pictures,  poor  paper,  poor  printing, 
poor  prizes,  and  two  dollars  a  year.  We  '11 
give  them  high-class  matter,  high-class 
pictures,  fine  printing,  beautiful  paper, 
splendid  prizes,  all  for  one  dollar  a  year; 
and  that 's  where  we  '11  make  the  third  and 
great  improvement  on  Frisby's  scheme." 

"  But  how  '11  you  do  it  without  money, 
Barry  ?  That  's  the  improvement  we 
want,"  laughed  Livingstone. 

"  That,"  said  Barrifield,  letting  his  voice 
become  a  whisper  once  more — "  that  is  n't 
an  improvement.  That  ^s  Frisby's  scheme  /  " 


II 

FRISBY'S    SCHEME 

T)  ARRIFIELD  lighted  a  fresh  cigar  and 
-Ll  blew  more  smoke  into  the  air. 

"  Frisby  told  me  himself,"  he  said 
drowsily,  and  apparently  recalling  certain 
details  from  the  blue  curling  wreaths.  "  I 
lent  him  money  and  helped  him  into  a 
position  when  he  first  came  here,  and  he  's 
never  forgotten  it.  He  held  the  posi 
tion  five  years  and  learned  the  publishing 
business.  Then  he  started  the  '  Voice  of 
Light.'  He  did  it  without  a  dollar.  He 
told  me  so." 

Livingstone  leaned  forward  eagerly. 

"  But  I  say,  old  man,  how  did  he  do  it, 
then?" 

"  Nerve.  Nerve  and  keen  insight  into 
15 


16  THE    BREAD    LINE 

humanity.  The  f  Voice  of  Light '  had 
been  started  by  some  fellows  who  had 
spent  all  their  money  trying  to  build  it 
up  on  the  old  lines  and  failed  completely. 
They  had  tried  to  sell  out,  but  nobody 
would  have  it.  They  had  no  assets — 
nothing  but  debts. 

"  Then  they  tried  to  give  it  away.  They 
tried  a  good  while.  Frisby  heard  of  it  at 
last,  and  went  over  and  said  they  might 
give  it  to  him.  They  did  it.  He  did  n't 
have  a  dollar. 

"  He  had  some  good  clothes,  though, 
and  he  put  them  on.  He  put  on  the  best 
he  had,  and  he  went  over  to  the  printers. 
The  '  Voice  '  owed  them  a  good  bill,  and 
they  were  glad  to  hear  the  paper  had 
changed  hands.  Their  account  could  n't 
get  any  worse,  and  Frisby's  clothes  and 
manner  indicated  that  it  might  become 
better.  He  told  them  he  contemplated 
getting  out  at  once  a  special  edition  of  a 
million  copies.  He  intimated  that  if  they 
could  n't  handle  such  a  number  of  papers 
he  would  be  obliged  to  arrange  for  them 
elsewhere.  They  almost  hugged  Frisby's 


FRISUV'S    SCHEME  17 

knees  to  keep  him  from  going.  He  did  n't 
have  a  dollar — not  a  dollar. 

"  Then  he  went  across  to  an  advertising 
agency  and  engaged  a  page  in  the  '  Great 
Home  Monthly  '  and  a  page  in  the  biggest 
Sunday-school  paper  in  the  world.  He 
asked  them  the  discount  for  cash,  and  their 
special  figures  to  compare  with  those  of 
other  agencies.  They  looked  at  his  good 
clothes  and  sized  up  his  talk,  which  was 
to  the  point  and  no  waste  words.  They 
booked  his  order  for  four  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  advertising — quick,  before  he 
changed  his  mind.  He  did  n't  have  a 
dollar.  He  told  me  so. 

"  He  went  up  to  the  Cambridge  Bible 
Company — biggest  Bible  concern  in  the 
world — and  asked  for  cash  figures  on  a 
quarter  of  a  million  Bibles.  They  thought 
he  was  crazy  at  first,  but  they  made  a 
figure  before  he  went  away  that  was  less 
than  a  third  what  the  same  Bible  sold  for 
at  retail  the  world  over.  They  told  him 
they  had  only  half  the  order  on  hand.  He 
said  that  those  would  do  to  start  with,  and 
that  he  would  let  them  know  when  to 


i8  THE   BREAD    LINE 

begin  delivering.  He  would  send  over  a 
check  when  he  wanted  the  first  lot.  They 
said  that  settlement  on  the  1st  of  each 
month  would  do.  He  did  that  all  in  one 
day, — he  told  me  so, — and  he  did  n't  have 
a  dollar — not  a  dollar." 

Barrifield  paused  and  looked  from  one 
to  the  other  to  note  the  effect  of  his  state 
ments.  The  three  listeners  were  waiting 
eagerly  for  more.  Livingstone  and  Van 
Dorn  were  watching  his  lips  for  the  next 
word  to  issue.  Perner  was  gazing  into 
his  glass,  but  there  was  a  slight  flush  and 
a  look  of  deep  reflection  on  his  face. 
Barrifield  maintained  silence,  and  the  sense 
of  his  importance  grew  powerfully  with 
each  second.  By  and  by  his  eyes  half 
closed  and  drifted  vaguely  into  the  un 
seen.  Livingstone  promptly  recalled  him. 

"  But  go  on  with  the  story,  old  man. 
What  was  the  next  step?  It  's  no  fair 
play  to  get  us  all  worked  up  this  way  and 
then  go  to  sleep." 

Barrifield  chuckled  lazily. 

"  That  's  all,"  he  said;  "  the  rest  is  mere 
detail.  Frisby  went  home  and  got  up 


FRISBY'S    SCHEME  19 

copy  for  his  advertising.  He  gave  the  Bible 
as  a  premium.  It  was  a  three-dollar  Bible  ; 
sold  at  three  dollars  the  world  over,  and 
you  know  there  's  not  supposed  to  be 
much  profit  in  Bibles.  Frisby  filled  up 
the  pages  he  had  engaged,  offering  in 
glowing  terms  the  Bible  and  the  paper 
both  for  two  dollars.  He  got  the  indorse 
ment  of  the  Rev.  Montague  Banks,  whose 
name  is  familiar  to  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  between  the  oceans,  and  he  sold  over 
one  Jiundred  thousand  Bibles  during  the 
first  six  ivceks  !  One  Jiundred  tliousand  ! 
He  told  me  so  !  " 

Barrifield's  voice  dropped  to  an  intense 
whisper  as  he  made  this  last  statement, 
and  the  effect  was  tremendous.  The 
others  stared  at  him,  at  the  ceiling,  and 
at  each  other.  They  repeated  the  figures, 
and  added  under  their  breath  various  ex 
clamations  peculiar  to  each.  Livingstone, 
who  did  not  swear  except  when  he  pounded 
his  finger  or  stumbled  over  a  chair  in  the 
dark,  only  said : 

"By  gad!  old  man,  by  gad!" 

"  In    one    day,"    continued    Barrifield, 


20  THE   BREAD    LINE 

leaning  half  across  the  table  and  empha 
sizing  each  word  with  a  slight  motion  of 
his  head,  "  in  one  day  he  got  in  six  thou 
sand  dollars  cash!  Think  of  it!" 

The  others  ivere  thinking,  and  thinking 
hard.  Perner  was  first  to  venture  an  ob 
jection  : 

"  But  that  was  a  religious  paper,  Barry, 
with  a  Bible  for  a  premium.  We  could 
hardly  expect — " 

"That  's  just  where  you  're  wrong," 
anticipated  Barrifield.  "  Ours  will  be 
religious  in  tone,  too,  and  a  home  paper 
besides.  It  will  go  to  every  household 
that  Frisby's  would  reach,  and  to  thou 
sands  besides  who  are  not  of  any  partic 
ular  denomination.  We  also  will  offer 
Bibles,  but  we  will  offer  other  things  too. 
We  will  offer  watches  and  cameras,  and 
premiums  for  boys  and  girls — dolls,  fishing- 
tackle,  and  guns — " 

"  I  should  think,"  interrupted  Van  Dorn, 
dryly,  "  that  with  a  gun  and  a  Bible  we 
might  gather  in  the  most  of  them." 

"  Now  you  're  talking  sense!"  said  Bar 
rifield,  excitedly.  "  We  '11  get  all  of  them. 


ERISHY'S    SCHEME  21 

We  '11  capture  the  whole  country.  Frisby 
had  a  quarter  of  a  million  circulation  in 
six  months.  We  '11  have  half  a  million  cir 
culation  in  three  months.  Mark  my  words 
— half  a  million  in  three  months!" 

"But  the  price,  Barry!  A  dollar  a 
year  and  a  premium."  Perner  was  still 
unsatisfied.  "  How  are  we  going  to  do 
it?" 

Barrifield  regarded  him  in  a  superior 
way. 

"The  paper  itself,"  he  said,  "will  cost 
us  less  than  fifty  cents  a  year,  even  figur 
ing  on  a  basis  of  only  a  quarter  of  a  million 
circulation.  Most  of  the  premiums  can 
now  be  bought  for  less  than  the  other 
fifty.  Those  that  can't  we  '11  give  just 
the  same,  only  we  '11  add  on  the  difference 
in  the  form  of  postage  and  packing.  No 
body  ever  thinks  of  objecting  to  a  slight 
additional  charge  for  postage  and  packing." 

He  drew  forth  a  paper  on  which  there 
were  figures.  A  round  of  chartreuse  was 
being  served,  and  in  its  yellow  radiance  all 
difficulties  dissolved  and  all  things  became 
possible.  He  laid  the  sheet  down  where 


22  THE   BREAD    LINE 

every  one  could  see  it  more  or  less  dis 
tinctly. 

"  The  white  paper,"  he  continued,  ff  will 
cost  less  than  four  cents  a  pound — less 
than  one  half-cent  for  each  copy.  The 
paper  is  always  the  big  expense.  Every 
publisher  will  tell  you  that.  The  paper 
for  quarter  of  a  million  copies  will  cost 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  the  press- 
work  about  five  hundred  dollars.  Every 
thing  else  will  cost  less  than  another  five 
hundred,  so  that  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  a  year  will  more  than 
cover  the  cost  of  getting  out  the  paper; 
but  say  it  costs  that, — we  want  to  figure 
full,  you  know, — and  then  another  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  for  premiums,  or 
quarter  of  a  million  in  all,  which  will  be 
covered  by  actual  subscription  money,  to 
say  nothing  of  advertising  returns,  which 
ought  to  at  least,  counting  three  pages  a 
week,  be  not  less  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  the  first  year,  and  that  will 
be  clear  profit  to  be  divided.  I  've  figured 
it  down  to  that  to  be  on  the  safe  side. 
With  half  a  million  circulation,  of  course, 


FRISBV'S    SCHEME  23 

it  would  be  twice  as  much  and  no  extra 
cost  except  for  presswork  and  white  paper. 
I  tell  you,  boys,  it  's  the  greatest  scheme 
ever  conceived." 

He  ran  the  items  over  glibly  and  pushed 
the  paper  across  the  table  for  each  to 
examine  in  turn.  The  figures  were  beau 
tifully  made,  and  seemed  to  add  correctly. 
If  there  were  a  few  minor  items,  such  as 
postage,  clerk  hire,  and  cost  of  circulation, 
omitted,  it  was  probably  because  they  were 
too  insignificant  to  be  considered.  The 
general  feeling  was  one  of  elation.  In  the 
spell  of  silence  that  lay  upon  them  each 
began  to  dream  on  his  own  account,  and 
to  build  a  castle  about  which  shimmered 
the  radiance  of  easily  acquired  wealth.  In 
Livingstone's  face  there  was  a  look  that 
did  not  appear  in  the  faces  of  his  compan 
ions.  It  was  not  more  eager,  perhaps,  but 
it  was  also  tender.  He  was  ten  years 
younger  than  the  others.  Affluence 
meant  much  to  all  of  them,  but  to  him  it 
meant  something  different — something  of 
which  the  others  did  not  know. 

"  But  we  '11  have  to  have  a  little  money 


24  THE    BREAD    LINE 

to  start  on,  won't  we,  old  man  ?  "  asked  Van 
Dorn,  at  last,  reflectively,  of  Barrifield. 

"Why,  yes;  I  suppose  a  few  hundred 
will  be  needed  at  the  start  to  pay  such 
little  bills  as  may  be  presented.  We  want 
to  impress  everybody  with  the  fact  that 
we  pay  cash,  don't  you  see?  And  dis 
count  everything.  By  paying  the  first 
bill  the  minute  it  's  presented  we  '11  es 
tablish  the  necessary  credit,  of  course, 
and  the  next  bill  will  be  held  till  we 
call  for  it.  Frisby  did  n't  have  a  dollar, 
— not  a  dollar, — but  then,  the  '  Voice  of 
Light '  was  established,  and  possibly  had 
some  slight  income,  besides  certain  fix 
tures  and  connections,  all  of  which  we 
would  have  to  secure,  and  probably  at 
some  cost.  I  could  invite  in  all  the  money 
needed — all  we  need.  Of  course,  it  would 
be  better  if  we  could  handle  everything 
ourselves  and  not  feel  under  any  outside 
obligations.  I  could  manage  a  fourth  of  it 
all  right,  or  even  a  third — "  He  hesitated 
and  looked  dreamily  across  the  table  at 
the  others. 

Perner  was  first  to  speak. 


FRISBY'S    SCHEME  25 

"  I  'm  like  Frisby,"  he  laughed.  "  I 
have  n't  got  a  dollar — in  money."  He 
made  this  statement  in  a  manner  that  in 
dicated  he  might  have  vast  possessions  in 
real  properties  or  stocks.  "  I  suppose  I 
could  manage  a  sixth,  though,  some  way," 
he  concluded  suddenly,  as  if  to  regain  a 
hold  on  a  golden  opportunity  that  was 
about  to  slip  from  his  grasp. 

The  glamour  of  prospective  riches  was 
upon  them.  Van  Dorn,  remembering  an 
old  schoolmate  who  had  prospered  in 
commerce,  stated  incontinently  that  he 
could  borrow  anything  from  two  dollars 
up  to  two  thousand  if  he  only  had  a  mind 
to  ask  for  it.  Livingstone  added  hastily 
that  he  would  take  the  other  sixth  interest, 
even  if  he  did  n't  have  quite  enough  money 
saved  to  pay  for  it  right  away.  At  each 
of  these  statements  Barrifield  assured  them 
that  they  were  talking  sense,  and  that  they 
were  as  good  as  millionaires  already.  The 
"Whole  Family"  had  become  definite. 
The  friends  were  in  high  spirits  as  they  rose 
to  leave.  The  waiter  who  helped  them  on 
with  their  coats  was  liberally  remembered. 


26  THE    BREAD    LINE 

It  was  eleven  o'clock  when  they  stepped 
out  into  the  winter  night.  Barrifield,  who 
was  a  married  man  and  a  suburban  Brook- 
lynite,  took  the  South  Ferry  car  at  Broad 
way.  The  other  three  set  their  faces  north 
in  the  direction  of  their  apartments.  Van 
Dorn  was  a  widower,  Perner  a  confirmed 
bachelor,  and  Livingstone  also  unmarried. 
They  were  untrammeled,  therefore,  as  to 
their  hours  and  habits. 

As  they  marched  up  Broadway  they 
laughed  a  great  deal.  They  were  prone 
to  see  the  humorous  side  of  life  in  all  its 
phases,  and  the  new  paper  with  its  various 
premium  combinations  furnished  a  novel 
source  of  amusement.  It  may  be  that 
the  champagne  stimulated  the  tendency 
to  mirth,  for  the  three  became  really  hila 
rious  as  they  proceeded. 

On  the  corner  of  Tenth  Street  they 
halted.  Across  the  way  there  was  a  long 
line  of  waiting  men  that  extended  around 
the  corner  in  either  direction. 

"What  's  that?"  exclaimed  Perner. 

"Why,  don't  you  know?"  said  Van 
Dorn.  "  That  's  the  bread  line.  They  get 


FRISBY'S   SCHEME  27 

a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  loaf  of  bread  every 
night  at  twelve  o'clock.  Old  Fleischmann, 
who  founded  the  bakery,  made  that  provi 
sion  in  his  will.  They  begin  to  collect 
here  at  ten  o'clock  and  before,  rain  or 
shine,  hot  or  cold." 

"  It  's  cold  enough  to-night!"  said  Liv 
ingstone. 

They  drew  nearer.  The  waifs  regarded 
them  listlessly.  They  were  a  ragged, 
thinly  clad  lot — a  drift-line  of  hunger, 
tossed  up  by  the  tide  of  chance. 

The  bohemians,  remembering  their  own 
lavish  dinner  and  their  swiftly  coming 
plenitude,  regarded  these  unfortunates 
with  silent  compassion. 

"  I  say,  fellows,"  whispered  Livingstone, 
presently,  "  let  's  get  a  lot  of  nickels  and 
give  one  to  each  of  them.  I  guess  we  can 
manage  it,"  he  added,  running  his  eye 
down  the  line  in  hasty  calculation. 

The  othersbegan  emptyingtheir  pockets. 
Perner  the  businesslike  stripped  himself 
of  his  last  cent  and  borrowed  a  dollar  of 
Van  Dorn  to  make  his  share  equal.  Then 
they  separated  and  scoured  in  different  di- 


28  THE    BREAD    LINE 

rections  for  change.  By  the  time  all  had  re 
turned  the  line  had  increased  considerably. 

"  We  'd  better  start  right  away  or  we 
won't  have  enough,"  said  Livingstone. 

He  began  at  the  head  of  the  line  and 
gave  to  each  outstretched  hand  as  far  as 
his  store  of  coins  lasted.  Then  Van  Dorn 
took  it  up,  and  after  him  Perner.  They 
had  barely  enough  to  give  to  the  last 
comers.  The  men's  hands  stretched  out 
long  before  they  reached  them.  Some 
said  "  Thank  you  "  ;  many  said  "  God  bless 
you  "  ;  some  said  nothing  at  all. 

"  There  's  more  money  in  that  crowd 
than  there  is  in  this  now,"  said  Perner,  as 
they  turned  away. 

"That  's  so,"  said  Livingstone.  "But 
wait  till  a  year  from  to-night.  We  '11 
come  down  here  and  give  these  poor  devils 
a  dollar  apiece — maybe  ten  of  them." 

Livingstone's  face  had  grown  tender 
again.  In  fancy  he  saw  them  returning  a 
year  from  to-night  with  ample  charity. 
And  another  would  come  with  them — one 
who  would  make  the  charity  sweeter  be 
cause  of  bestowing  it  with  fair  hands. 


Ill 


A  LETTER  FROM  THE  "  DEAREST  GIRL  IN 
THE  WORLD,"  OTHERWISE  MISS  DORO 
THY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND,  TO  MR. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEWr  YORK 

MY  DEAR  OLD  TRUE  :  I  have  both 
laughed  and  cried  over  your  letter, 
and  I  have  thought,  too,  a  great  deal.  It 
was  awfully  jolly  to  think  of  you  and  those 
good  friends  of  yours  dining  together  on 
New  Year's  eve,  and  there  is  only  one  way 
I  would  have  had  it  different,  and  that  way 
would  have  seemed  selfish  on  my  part,  and 
unfair  to  the  others,  too. 

"  I  do  wish  I  might  have  been  near  by, 
though,  unknown   to   you,   and   heard   all 
that  passed,  for  I  know  you  only  told  me 
29 


30  THE   BREAD   LINE 

the  good  things  the  others  said,  and  not  all 
the  best  things — those  you  said  yourself. 
Or,  if  you  did  not  say  them,  you  thought 
them,  and  were  only  restrained  by  modesty. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  get  over  that  by  and 
by,  when  you  are  as  old  as  Perny  and 
Barry  and  Van  (you  see,  I  am  beginning  to 
feel  that  I  know  your  friends,  and  call  them 
as  you  do) ;  only  I  hope  you  won't  get 
entirely  over  it,  either,  for  do  you  know, 
True,  that  is  just  one  reason  why  I  love  you 
—  I  mean  because  you  are  fine  and  manly 
and  modest — just  old  True,  that  's  all. 
And  when  I  came  to  where  you  gave  the 
money  to  the  shivering  men  waiting  for 
bread,  I  knew  just  how  you  felt,  and  I 
could  n't  keep  back  the  tears  to  save  my 
life. 

"  And  I  know  it  was  you,  True,  who 
proposed  it,  though  you  did  n't  say  so, 
for  it  is  exactly  what  you  would  do ;  and 
when  you  told  how  they  put  out  their 
hands  for  the  money,  and  some  of  them 
said  '  God  bless  you,'  and  how  we  would 
go  there  together  in  a  year,  and  with 
Perny  and  Van,  too,  and  give  them  all 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  31 

something  again,  and  perhaps  more, — a 
great  deal  more,  —  I  wanted  to  put  my 
arms  about  you,  True,  and  give  you  a 
good  hug,  and  tell  you  how  noble  and 
generous  you  are,  and  how  I  wish  I  were 
more  like  you,  for  your  sake. 

"  What  a  wonderful  plan  that  is  of  Mr. 
Barrifield's!  Do  you  know,  it  quite  startles 
me;  it  seems  like  some  fairy  tale.  And  as 
for  the  figures,  they  fairly  make  me  dizzy. 
Mr.  Barrifield  must  be  a  very  remarkable 
man  to  conceive  such  an  extraordinary 
idea;  and  how  fortunate  for  him  that  he 
has  such  men  as  you  and  Van  and  Perny 
to  help  him!  Between  Barry  and  Perny 
with  their  business  and  literary  ability,  and 
you  and  Van  to  look  after  the  pictures,  I 
am  sure  you  will  get  out  a  beautiful  paper, 
and  one  that  ought  to  succeed.  It  seems 
like  magic  that  it  could  be  made  to  do  so 
without  great  capital  at  the  start^but,  of 
course,  Mr.  Frisby  did  it '  without  a  dollar,' 
so  it  is  possible,  and  Barry's  plan  certainly 
is  plausible  and  fascinating.  Then,  too,  if 
it  should  not  turn  out  exactly  as  planned, 
he  can  always  get  those  capitalists  to 


32  THE    BREAD    LINE 

come  in,  you  know;  and  while  I  suppose 
you  would  be  obliged  to  take  a  very 
small  share  then,  it  would  be  better  than 
failure. 

"  You  see,  True,  I  have  been  thinking, 
as  I  said  at  the  start,  and  I  am  with  you, 
of  course,  heart  and  soul,  in  whatever  you 
undertake;  only,  do  you  know,  True,  I 
can't  make  myself  very  enthusiastic  about 
it.  I  mean  I  don't  feel  about  it  as  I  do 
about  your  work,  and  as  I  felt  when  you 
wrote  me  that  you  had  got  into  the  big 
magazines,  and  had  been  given  a  serial  to 
illustrate  by  the  greatest  of  them  all.  I 
hardly  slept  a  wink  that  night,  I  was  so 
happy  for  you  and  for  myself  and  for 
everybody.  I  am  glad  of  this,  too,  but  it 
is  in  a  different  way. 

"  I  know  it  is  hard  to  save  when  money 
is  earned  with  one's  hands,  for  it  comes 
little  at  a  time,  and  if  the  paper  prospers 
it  will  be  easier  for  you  afterward.  But, 
somehow,  premiums  and  showy  offers  in 
big  type  don't  seem  to  fit  in  with  my 
thought  of  you,  and  the  Bible  premium 
especially  does  n't  appeal  to  me  entirely. 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  33 

I  suppose  it  is  all  right,  and  perhaps,  as 
you  say,  a  great  many  people  will  get 
Bibles  who  never  had  them  before ;  but  to 
me  there  is  something  almost  sacrilegious 
in  the  thought  of  using  the  Bible  as  a 
means  of  making  the  paper  sell.  You 
know,  True,  I  am  not  very  strait-laced 
about  such  matters,  either,  and,  after  all,  of 
course,  if  Mr.  Frisby  used  it,  and  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Rev.  Montague  Banks,  it 
must  be  all  right.  But  you  know  also, 
True,  that  it  is  n't  for  money  or  luxury 
that  I  care,  —  I  have  had  plenty  of  such 
things, — and  it  is  just  for  your  own  dear, 
trusting  self,  and  your  aims  and  triumphs, 
that  I  love  you. 

"  Your  bohemian  life  there  with  Perny 
and  Van  has  always  seemed  so  delightful 
to  me.  You  are  all  such  good  friends,  and 
it  must  be  beautiful  to  do  your  work  to 
gether,  and  then  go  out  and  see  the  differ 
ent  phases  of  living  and  dying,  and  the 
struggle  of  existence,  without  the  cares 
and  worries  of  business.  I  have  pictured 
you  so  often  sitting  about  the  fire  at  even 
ing,  smoking  your  pipes  and  dreaming  the 


34  THE   BREAD   LINE 

dreams  that  are  only  of  your  world,  and 
happy  in  that  comradeship  which  only  men 
ever  understand  and  feel  for  each  other. 
Then  I  have  tried  not  to  be  jealous  of  the 
others,  and  to  make  myself  believe  that  by 
and  by,  when  I  came,  it  would  not  be  so 
hard  for  you  to  give  them  up,  and  that 
sometimes  I  would  let  you  go  back  to 
them,  and  then  for  the  evening  you  could 
forget  that  I  had  ever  come  into  your  life 
and  changed  it  all. 

"You  must  let  me  say  all  this,  True, 
because  I  feel  it,  and  know,  in  spite  of 
your  noble  letters  to  me,  that  it  will  make 
a  difference,  and  that  your  life  will  never 
be  quite  the  same  afterward.  And  that  is 
why  I  feel  about  the  paper  as  I  do,  too,  I 
suppose,  for  I  feel  that  it  will  in  some  way 
rob  you  of  the  quiet  happiness  and  the 
serene  sweetness  of  art  that  you  now  enjoy, 
and  for  which  I  have  been  more  than  once 
tempted  to  give  you  up  and  go  out  of 
your  life  for  your  own  sake.  Only,  True, 
I  am  weak  and  human,  and  can't  let  you 
go  as  long  as  you,  too,  are  weak  and  human 
enough  to  love  me  and  to  make  us  both 


A   LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  35 

believe  that  I  will  be  a  help  and  an  inspi 
ration  to  you  by  and  by. 

"  As  I  read  over  this  letter  now,  it  seems 
to  me  neither  very  cheerful  nor  encourag 
ing,  and  not  at  all  the  letter  I  started  out 
to  write.  But  if  I  should  write  another  I 
fear  I  should  not  improve  on  it,  and  any 
way,  True,  you  know  it  is  from  the  heart, 
and  that  always  and  always  my  heart  is 
with  you  and  for  you  in  whatever  you  do 
or  undertake.  Write  to  me  as  often  as 
you  can,  and  tell  me  the  good  things  that 
happen,  and  the  funny  things,  too;  for  I 
enjoy  them  all,  and  your  letters  are  pre 
cious  to  me  beyond  anything  that  the  days 
bring.  Go  right  on,  True;  don't  let  any 
thing  I  say  make  you  hesitate  for  a  mo 
ment.  I  am  away  off  here,  dreaming  idle 
dreams,  while  you  are  there  and  see  and 
know.  I  am  sure  you  will  do  what  is  best 
—you  always  do ;  and  remember  that, 
whatever  comes,  I  am,  now  and  forever, 
your 

"DOROTHY." 


IV 

SOME   PREMIUMS 

IT  was  decided  to  make  Perner  the 
editor.  This  decision  was  reached 
during  a  lunch  on  Twenty-third  Street, 
where  the  proprietors  of  the  "  Whole 
Family  "  met  one  day  some  weeks  after 
the  initial  dinner.  A  number  of  brief  and 
informal  meetings  had  been  held,  and  a  lib 
eral  amount  of  talk  expended,  besides  the 
continuous  discussion  and  badinage  in  the 
studio  where  Livingstone,  Van  Dorn,  and 
Perner  still  worked,  though  in  a  manner 
disheartening  to  their  publishers.  The 
idea  of  starting  a  vast  enterprise  with  little 
or  no  capital  had  in  it  something  very  fas 
cinating  to  the  bohemian  temperament, 
while  the  consideration  of  its  unique  phases 
36 


SOME    PREMIUMS  37 

and  the  more  or  less  appropriate  premiums 
to  be  offered,  afforded  never-ending  amuse 
ment.  Work  lagged,  while  hope  tinted 
the  air  rose-color,  and  the  god  of  mirth 
perched  by  the  side  of  Venus  Milo  on  the 
mantelpiece. 

Livingstone,  it  is  true,  had  begun,  and 
with  fine  enthusiasm  at  first,  a  picture  of 
the  bread  line  as  they  had  seen  it  on  New 
Year's  eve.  The  sketch  was  on  canvas, 
and  strong  in  composition  and  feeling. 
The  others  came  over  and  stood  one  on 
either  side  of  him  and  said  so.  They  said 
so  more  than  once,  and  with  various  de 
grees  of  emphasis.  Perhaps  this  satisfied 
Livingstone,  for  after  that  his  interest  in 
the  undertaking  became  that  of  a  spectator 
also.  The  canvas  stood  on  an  easel  in  one 
corner,  and  served  as  a  diversion  when  the 
"  Whole  Family  "  topic  was  for  the  mo 
ment  exhausted. 

But  one  day  Barrifield  came  over  just 
before  noon,  and  announced  that  they 
should  organize  forthwith.  He  had  been 
investigating  certain  premium  articles,  a 
number  of  which  he  had  in  his  pockets. 


38  THE   BREAD    LINE 

He  said  it  was  necessary  to  have  some 
definite  address,  and  whoever  was  to  be 
editor  should  be  chosen,  that  he  might 
begin  to  cast  about  for  desirable  features. 
So  they  drifted  over  to  the  Twenty-third 
Street  place  to  "  eat  things  and  talk,"  as 
Livingstone  said.  They  had  done  a  good 
deal  of  this  lately. 

While  they  were  waiting  for  the  dishes, 
Barrifield  began  emptying  his  pockets. 
He  produced  first  from  his  vest  an  article 
that  caused  Livingstone  to  whisper: 

"  I  say,  old  man,  put  that  clock  out  of 
sight.  You  can  hear  it  all  over  the  place." 

Barrifield  stared  at  him  reproachfully. 

"  That,"  he  said,  with  great  deliberation, 
"  is  a  watch." 

"  I  would  n't  have  believed  it,"  said  Van 
Dorn,  taking  it  in  his  hand.  "  I  thought 
it  was  a  water-meter." 

Perner  held  it  to  his  ear.  In  his  youth 
he  had  lived  on  a  farm. 

"  Twenty-horse-power  vibrator,"  he  an 
nounced,  after  listening. 

"  Stem-winder  and  -setter,"  continued 
Barrifield,  undisturbed.  "  Perfect  time." 


SOME    PREMIUMS  39 

The  article  was  passed  around. 

"  Did  n't  they  have  any  thicker  ones?" 
asked  Livingstone. 

"  Well,  of  course,"  assented  Barrifield, 
"  it  is  a  trifle  thicker  than  a  fine  gold 
watch,  but  it  's  a  perfect  gem  in  other 
respects.  The  manufacturer  of  it  told  me 
he  had  carried  one  of  them  a  year,  and 
that  it  had  n't  varied  a  second  in  that 
time." 

"'  Maybe  it  was  stopped,"  suggested 
Van  Dorn,  but  Barrifield  ignored  this 
libel. 

"  Every  boy  will  want  one  of  the  '  Whole 
Family  '  watches,"  he  went  on.  "  We  can 
sell  a  barrel  of  them  in  every  town." 

"  How  many  of  them  come  in  a  barrel  ?  " 
interrupted  Livingstone. 

Barrifield  leaned  across  the  table. 

"  And  I  can  buy  them,"  he  said  eagerly, 
"I  can  buy  them  for  seventy-five  cents! 
Think  of  it!  Seventy-five  cents!  A  five- 
dollar  watch,  given  with  the  finest  weekly 
paper  ever  offered,  for  only  one  dollar  a 
year!" 

"  How  will  you  do  that?  "  asked  Perner. 


40  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"That  leaves  us  twenty- five  cents  for  the 
paper." 

"  Why,  you  know,  we  '11  add  something 
for  postage  and  packing,  as  I  said  before." 

"  Yes,  and  it  will  take  something.  By 
the  time  you  get  a  box  on  that  thrashing- 
machine,  properly  nailed  and  mailed,  it 
will  cost  twenty-five  cents."  Perner's 
business  experience  was  manifesting  itself. 

"Oh,  pshaw,  Perny!"  protested  Barri- 
field,  "  it  won't  cost  half  so  much.  We 
can  get  boys  and  girls  for  three  dollars  or 
so  a  week  to  attend  to  all  that." 

Perner  closed  his  eyes  for  an  instant  and 
saw  in  fancy  an  army  of  youthful  clerks 
packing  various  premiums  for  mailing. 
Then,  remembering  the  difficulty  with 
which  he  had  managed  even  a  small  busi 
ness  with  less  than  a  dozen  assistants,  he 
sighed.  He  knew  that  big  businesses  really 
were  conducted,  and  with  a  science  and 
precision  that  was  a  constant  source  of 
wonder  to  him.  Perhaps  Barrifield  knew 
the  secret  of  their  management. 

"Even  if  it  did  cost  that,"  proceeded 
Barrifield,  "  think  of  the  quantity  of  them 


SOME    PREMIUMS  41 

we  will  sell,  and  the  immense  circulation  it 
will  give  us.  We  could  afford  to  lose  a 
little  on  each  and  make  it  back  on  the 
advertising." 

Perner  knew  nothing  of  advertising, 
except  that  a  certain  paper  received  five 
thousand  dollars  a  page  for  each  issue,  and 
Barrifield  had  assured  them  that  the  cir 
culation  of  the  "Whole  Family"  would 
be  more  than  twice  as  great.  He  sub 
sided,  therefore,  while  Barrifield  drew 
from  his  overcoat  pocket  a  flat  package  of 
considerable  size  and  weight.  He  undid 
the  strings  carefully,  and  a  leather-bound, 
limp-covered  book  lay  before  them. 

"That,"  he  said  triumphantly,  "is  the 
Bible!" 

Van  Dorn  reached  for  it  and  turned 
some  of  the  leaves  curiously. 

"  First  one  Van  ever  saw,"  said  Perner. 

Livingstone  took  up  the  book  with 
thoughtful  regard. 

"  Do  you  really  think  we  'd  better  use 
this  as  a  premium?"  he  said  hesitatingly. 
"  It  seems  to  me  that  it — that  it  's  too — 
that  it  's  overdoing  it."  Livingstone's 


42  THE    BREAD    LINE 

smooth  face  flushed  a  little.  "  I  mean  that 
it  's  been  overdone  already,"  he  added 
hastily  and  with  confusion. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  boy,"  said  Barrifield, 
"  the  Bible  is  never  overdone.  This  is  a 
finer  one  than  Frisby  used,  and  I  can  get  it 
for  just  what  the  watch  costs.  The  'Whole 
Family '  and  the  great  Instructor's  Bible, 
worth  both  together  five  dollars,  all  for 
one  dollar!" 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  this  won't 
cost  postage!"  said  Perner. 

"  Not  a  great  deal.  Book  postage  is 
cheap, — very  cheap, — and  think  how  many 
of  them  we  will  sell  and  how  much  good 
they  will  do!  One  half-million  Bibles  and 
the  'Whole  Family'  —  " 

"  You  did  n't  bring  the  gun  along,  did 
you?"  interrupted  Van  Dorn. 

Just  then  the  dishes  were  served,  and 
the  premiums  were  for  the  moment  put 
aside.  The  talk,  however,  continued. 
Barrifield  spoke  of  other  premiums  he  had 
been  considering  and  upon  which  he  had 
secured  "  special  inside  figures  "  on  large 
quantity.  He  no  longer  mentioned  hun- 


SOME    PREMIUMS  43 

dreds  and  thousands  in  relation  to  the 
new  paper.  He  was  reveling  in  millions 
that  were  as  real  to  him  as  if  they  were 
already  to  his  credit  at  the  banker's.  Pres 
ently  he  reviewed  once  more  the  story  of 
Frisby  and  the  "Voice  of  Light,"  whose 
cry  in  the  wilderness  had  brought  fortune 
so  promptly  to  his  aid. 

He  added  fresh  details  recently  obtained, 
and  told  how  during  the  first  month,  when 
he  had  been  waiting  for  his  advertising  to 
appear,  he  had  been  obliged  to  mortgage 
his  household  effects  at  five  per  cent,  a 
week  in  order  to  live.  He  had  received 
one  thousand  dollars  in  the  first  mail  after 
the  advertising  appeared.  And  when  that 
mail  was  brought  in  and  laid  on  his  desk 
he  did  n't  have  a  dollar  in  his  pocket- 
not  a  dollar.  As  Barrifield  proceeded, 
any  vague  doubts  of  success  that  had  crept 
into  the  minds  of  his  listeners  disappeared. 
They  began  the  work  of  organization 
forthwith,  and  Van  Dorn,  who  had  faith  in 
Perner's  literary  judgment,  proposed  that 
he  be  the  editor.  Perner,  in  turn,  proposed 
Van  Dorn  as  art  editor,  with  Livingstone 


44  THE    BREAD    LINE 

as  his  assistant.  Barrifield  was  to  be 
nominally  business  manager,  though,  for 
the  reason  that  his  present  position  con 
sumed  most  of  his  time,  and  as  the  busi 
ness  offices  for  convenience  were  to  be  in 
the  studios  occupied  by  the  other  three,  the 
management,  such  as  it  was,  would  for  a 
while  fall  mostly  upon  Perner,  who  referred 
once  more  to  his  ten  years'  successful  ex 
perience,  and  assumed  his  double  respon 
sibility  with  some  dignity. 

A  consideration  of  the  first  number's 
contents  was  then  taken  up,  with  the  result 
that  they  were  to  prepare  it  mostly  them 
selves.  They  were  on  familiar  ground 
now,  and  Perner  and  Van  Dorn  each  dis 
played  some  evidence  of  fitness  for  their 
respective  positions.  There  must  be  two 
stirring  serials,  one  of  which  they  would 
buy.  Barrifield  knew  where  one  could  be 
had.  Livingstone  could  do  the  pictures 
for  this  story.  The  other  would  be  more 
in  Van's  line. 

Then  they  lighted  cigars  and  went  back 
to  the  premiums,  and  Barrifield  launched 
into  the  details  of  his  recent  explorations 


SOME    PREMIUMS  45 

and  discoveries  in  the  vast  jungles  of  Pre 
mium  Land.  He  had  examined  and  priced 
everything,  from  a  nut-cracker  to  a  trip 
abroad.  Presently  he  began  to  spread  a 
number  of  these  things  on  the  table,  which 
the  waiter  had  once  more  cleared.  Besides 
the  watch  and  Bible,  there  was  a  fishing- 
kit,  all  but  the  rod,  which  was  described 
fully  in  a  leaflet,  a  bicycle  lamp,  a  pam 
phlet  outlining  a  tour  through  the  Holy 
Land,  sample  pages  of  a  cook-book,  and  a 
pair  of  ear-muffs. 

Barrifield  arranged  these  on  the  cloth, 
explaining  as  he  did  so  that  a  beautiful  box 
kite  had  been  too  large  to  bring,  as  was 
also  a  gun  of  which  he  could  get  a  limited 
quantity — a  hundred  thousand  or  so — at 
a  ridiculously  low  figure.  Van  Dorn 
picked  up  the  ear-muffs  curiously. 

"  What  do  these  cost?  "  he  asked. 

"  Forty-eight  cents  a  pair  by  the  gross. 
Special  inside  figure  because  I  told  him  we 
would  want  a  quarter  of  a  million  pairs." 

Van  Dorn  looked  at  them  a  little  closer. 

"  The  fellow  I  saw  must  have  stolen  his," 
he  said,  "  for  he  was  selling  them  ycster- 


46  THE    BREAD    LINE 

day  on  Broadway  for  twenty-five  cents  a 
pair." 

"Impossible,  Van!  They  could  n't  be 
the  same,  you  know,"  protested  Barrifield, 
earnestly.  "  There  are  many  qualities  of 
ear-muffs.  These  are  the  very  best — 
double-elastic,  wire-set  and  -bound,  storm 
proof  muffs.  They  cost  forty-six  cents  to 
make — the  manufacturer  told  me  so. 
What  you  saw  was  a  cheap  imitation." 

Barrifield  put  an  end  to  further  discus 
sion  on  this  point  by  calling  attention  to  the 
bicycle  lamp — something  new  and  superior 
to  any  in  use.  He  had  been  attracted  by 
it  in  a  sporting-goods  window  on  Nassau 
Street.  The  price  had  been  steep, — too 
steep  for  a  premium,  of  course,  — but  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  if  he  could  get  on 
the  "inside"  he  would  find  a  price  there 
within  their  reach.  He  had  got  on  the  in 
side.  He  had  pursued  the  elusive  "  inside  " 
even  to  Hoboken,  and  captured  it  there  in 
the  very  sanctity  of  the  factory— the  pres 
ident's  private  office. 

"  The  president  was  a  fine,  big,  smooth 
faced  man  with  one  of  these  rich,  hearty 


SOME    PREMIUMS  47 

laughs,"  he  explained,  "  and  we  had  a  long 
talk  together.  I  told  him  we  had  a  new 
scheme  that  would  put  us  in  a  position  to 
use  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  these  lamps 
the  first  year,  and  that  we  had  been 
considering  another  make — which  was 
true." 

"  It  was,"  said  Van  Dorn,  "  and  it  would 
have  been  equally  true  to  have  said  that 
we  've  been  considering  every  known 
article  of  commerce,  from  a  mouse-trap 
with  two  holes  to  a  four-masted  schooner." 

"That  caught  him  right  away,"  con 
tinued  Barrifield,  regardless  of  this  inter 
ruption.  "  He  said  he  wanted  to  get 
started  with  a  new  thing  like  ours,  and 
that  he  was  going  to  let  us  on  the  inside. 
He  had  a  talk  with  the  manager,  and  came 
back  and  made  me  a  net  cash  price  of 
eighty-seven  cents!  Think  of  it!  Eighty- 
seven  cents  for  a  two-dollar  lamp  !  Given 
with  the  '  Whole  Family  '  one  year — fifty- 
two  weeks — for  one  dollar  and  one  new 
subscriber! " 

Perner  the  businesslike  was  calculat 
ing. 


48  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"  That  would  be  two  dollars  we  would 
get  in  all,"  he  said,  "  for  two  subscriptions, 
two  premiums,  postage,  and  handling. 
Counting,  say,  seventy-five  cents  for  the 
other  premium,  and  twenty-five  cents  for 
postage  and  handling,  we  would  have  just 
thirteen  cents  left  for  our  two  subscrip 
tions." 

"  By  gad!"  said  Livingstone,  weakly. 

"  But  the  advertising  is  where  we  come 
in,"  insisted  Barrifield,  eagerly.  "  And 
besides,  everybody  \von't  take  lamps, 
either." 

Van  Dorn  was  smiling  queerly. 

"  No,"  he  said  ;  "  and  if  they  did  we  can 
get  them  over  at  Cutten  &  Downum's  for 
sixty-seven  cents  apiece.  I  saw  them 
there  yesterday." 

"Not  this  lamp!"  protested  Barrifield. 
"  I  '11  bet  ten  dollars  it  was  a  cheap  imita 
tion.  I  '11  write  to  President  Bright  to 
night  about  it.  He  's  a  fine  man.  He  'd 
take  some  stock  in  the  '  Whole  Family '  in 
a  minute,  if  we  'd  let  him.  It  could  n't 
have  been  this  lamp!" 

"  Maybe  not,"  assented  Van  Dorn  ;  "  but 


SOME    PREMIUMS  49 

they  had  a  big  card  up,  saying  '  Bright  & 
Sons'  Stellar,  sixty-seven  cents,'  and  the 
lamps  looked  just  like  this." 

The  others  said  nothing,  but  their  confi 
dence  in  Barrifield's  purchasing  ability  had 
received  a  distinct  jar.  Presently  Perner 
noticed  the  head  waiter  watching  them 
intently.  He  was  about  to  mention  this 
when  the  minion  walked  over  and  spoke 
to  Barrifield  in  a  whisper.  Barrifield  grew 
red  and  began  to  drag  the  things  together 
as  the  waiter  moved  away. 

"What  's  the  matter?  What  did  he 
say,  Barry?"  asked  Van  Dorn. 

At  first  Barrifield  did  not  answer.  Then 
the  humor  of  it  seized  him,  and  he  chuckled 
all  over,  growing  even  redder  as  he  hid 
away  the  things. 

"Come,  old  man,  what  did  he  say?" 
urged  Livingstone. 

Barrifield  could  hardly  steady  his  voice 
for  laughter. 

"  It  's  too  good  to  keep,"  he  admitted. 

"  Out  with  it,  then,"  said  Perner. 

"  Why,"  said  Barrifield,  "  he  said  that 
they  had  sample-rooms  up-stairs,  and  that 


50  THE   BREAD    LINE 

it  was  against  the  rules  to  show  samples 
here  in  the  dining-room." 

"  Hoo-ee !  "  shouted  Van  Dorn.  "  That 
calls  for  something." 

"By  gad!  yes,"  said  Livingstone,  "it 
does!" 

It  was  well  along  in  the  afternoon  when 
the  friends  left  the  place,  and  Perner,  Van 
Dorn,  and  Livingstone  returned  to  their 
apartments.  They  went  over  at  first  and 
stood  for  some  moments  before  the  picture 
of  the  bread  line. 

"Why  don't  you  finish  it,  Stony?" 
asked  Perner.  "  Finish  it  up  and  sell  it 
for  enough  to  pay  your  part  in  the  '  Whole 
Family.'  " 

"  Good  scheme— I  've  thought  of  it," 
confessed  Livingstone. 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  are  any  pub 
lishers  in  that  line?  "  mused  Van  Dorn. 

Livingstone  laughed. 

"  I  say,  fellows,  let  's  take  a  walk  up 
Fifth  Avenue  and  pick  out  the  houses 
we  're  going  to  buy  next  year!" 

As  they  turned  to  go,  Van  Dorn  took 
up  a  blank  piece  of  drawing-paper  and  a 


SOME    PREMIUMS  51 

brush.  He  worked  away  a  few  moments, 
the  others  looking  on.  As  they  passed 
out  he  tacked  it  to  the  outer  door  with  pins. 
Then  they  all  faced  about,  and,  standing 
abreast,  read  in  the  fading  light  of  the  hall 
way  : 


OFFICE    OF 
THE    WHOLE    FAMILY 

A    WEEKLY    PAPER 
FOR    YOUNG    AND    OLD 


V 


A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  MISS  DOR 
OTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

MY  DEAR,  DEAREST  DORRY :  When 
I  sit  down  to  write  to  you  there  is 
always  so  much  I  want  to  say  that  I  never 
know  where  to  begin,  and  in  the  end  I 
seem  to  tell  you  nothing  at  all  except  that 
I  love  you,  which  you  have  heard  so  much 
I  am  always  afraid  you  will  grow  tired  of 
hearing  it  again.  Then  I  turn  cold  at  the 
thought,  and  rewrite  the  letter  to  leave  out 
some  of  the  times,  but  before  I  am  done  I 
find  them  all  in  again  somewhere  else ;  so 
it  is  no  use,  you  see,  and  I  generally  send 
the  first  letter,  after  all.  Then,  when  it  is 
gone  I  want  it  back,  though  I  don't  know 
52 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  53 

whether  I  want  it  to  take  out  some  of  the 
times  I  've  said  it,  or  to  put  in  some  more 
that  I  did  n't  say. 

"  Oh,  Dorry  dear,  I  do  love  you,  and 
often  when  I  have  thought  of  you  in  your 
beautiful  home  surrounded  by  luxury,  and 
then  remembered  that  I  have  asked  you 
to  leave  it  all  and  cast  your  fortunes  with 
a  chap  whose  fortunes  depend  on  the 
whim  of  the  public  and  the  fancy  of  the 
art  editor,  it  has  made  me  feel  so  guilty 
that  I  have  more  than  once  put  into  those 
letters  I  did  n't  send  something  about  let 
ting  you  take  it  all  back  and  not  allow 
ing  you  to  make  such  a  sacrifice  for  me, 
even  though  you  are  true  and  noble  and 
willing. 

"  And  then  I  did  n't  send  those  letters, 
and  I  'm  glad  now  that  I  did  n't,  for  the 
hard  days  are  going  to  be  over  soon,  and 
I  feel  that  I  shall  be  able  to  offer  you 
comforts  that  will,  perhaps,  keep  you  from 
regretting  altogether  those  you  have  left 
behind.  I  am  glad  you  are  so  enthusiastic 
too,  now,  about  the  paper,  though  you 
did  n't  feel  just  that  way  at  the  start,  and 


54  THE    BREAD    LINE 

after  I  got  your  first  letter  I  had  to  talk 
the  scheme  all  over  again  with  Barry  and 
Perny  and  Van  to  get  back  my  courage 
and  to  be  sure  the  Bible  premium  was  all 
right. 

"  You  know,  Dorry,  that  money  is  a 
great  thing,  or  at  least  you  don't  know, 
because  you  never  had  to  do  without  it, 
but  it  is,  and  especially  here  where  it  is  so 
hard  to  get,  and  where  it  takes  so  much 
of  it  to  live  even  respectably.  All  that 
you  have  so  often  said  about  the  bohemian 
life  is  fine  and  beautiful,  and  true  in  a  way, 
too,  but  there  are  unpleasant  phases  of  it 
as  well.  The  struggle  is  very  hard  some 
times,  and  even  Perny  and  Van,  who  do  not 
need  much  money,  and  who  will  never  be 
anything  different  from  what  they  are  now, 
even  they  are  glad  that  they  will  be 
worth  a  million  at  least  by  this  time  next 
year. 

"  Perny  has  some  property  out  West 
that  he  '11  be  able  to  hire  somebody  to 
take  off  his  hands  then,  and  Van  wants  to 
buy  another  old  bureau  that  we  saw  yester 
day  at  an  antique-shop,  though  he  already 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  55 

has  two,  and  nothing  in  them  except  fish 
ing-tackle  that  he  gets  every  spring  before 
it  is  time  to  go,  and  never  uses.  Then,  Van 
thinks  he  'd  like  a  house  to  keep  his 
bureaus  in,  too,  and  Perny  wants  a  place 
where  he  can  have  whatever  he  likes  to 
eat,  and  a  lot  of  people  to  help  him  eat  it, 
while  he  recites  his  poetry  to  them. 

"  You  knoiv  what  I  want  a  house  for — a 
house  that  shall  be  a  home  for  you  and 
for  me,  and  where,  in  the  soft  light  of  dim, 
quiet  rooms,  I  shall  sit  by  you  and  talk  and 
listen  while  time  slips  on.  Do  you  re 
member  how  the  time  used  to  fly  when  we 
were  together?  It  seemed  always  as  if 
some  one  must  be  turning  the  clock  ahead 
for  a  joke.  I  am  going  to  make  a  picture 
some  day  of  two  lovers,  and  on  the  mantel 
above  them  Cupid  laughing  and  turning 
up  the  clock-hands.  We  will  make  that 
picture  together  next  year,  for  you  will 
slip  in  and  look  over  my  shoulder,  and 
you  will  take  the  pen  or  the  brush  and 
touch  here  and  there;  and  the  editors  will 
like  my  pictures  better  because  of  those 
touches ;  and  when  they  are  printed  in  the 


56  THE    BREAD    LINE 

books  and  papers  I  will  sit  dreaming  over 
my  own  work  because  it  will  not  be  all 
mine,  but  part  Dorry's,  too. 

"  I  have  never  told  Perny  and  Van  any 
thing  about  you,  because  I  have  never 
quite  found  the  opportunity  to  do  it  in 
the  way  I  would  like.  But  I  think  some 
times  they  suspect,  for  the  other  day,  when 
we  went  out  to  look  at  houses,  Perny  said 
he  did  n't  suppose  I  'd  want  my  house 
very  close  to  two  old  hardened  sinners  like 
them.  Then  we  came  to  a  vacant  lot  that 
was  just  about  large  enough  for  three 
houses,  and  I  said  we  would  n't  buy  houses 
at  all,  but  would  buy  the  lot  and  build 
there  side  by  side  and  just  to  suit  us.  And 
I  said  we  would  have  our  studios  on  the  same 
floor  of  each,  and  opening  through  into 
each  other  as  they  do  now,  and  that  Perny's 
should  be  between,  because  we  both  illus 
trate  his  work  sometimes,  and  that  then 
we  would  be  able  to  hire  editors  to  run  the 
'  Whole  Family/  and  we  would  work  at  the 
kind  of  work  we  liked  to  do  and  at  no  other. 
And  I  said  that  evenings  we  would  sit 
together  and  talk  just  as  we  do  now,  and 


A   LETTER    FROM    TRUE  57 

you  would  be  there,  too — though,  of  course, 
I  did  n't  say  that,  but  I  know  they  under 
stood  and  liked  it,  and  you  would  like  it 
too,  sweetheart,  for  you  have  said  so. 

"  And  then  Van  said,  '  Bully,  old  man!' 
and  Perny  did  n't  say  anything,  but  he 
put  his  arms  over  Van  and  me  when  we 
came  to  the  stairs,  and  we  went  up  and 
took  a  look  at  my  picture  before  dark. 
Perny  wants  me  to  finish  it  and  sell  it  to 
get  the  money  to  put  into  the  paper,  and 
says  he  is  going  to  buy  it  back  with  the 
first  returns  that  come,  to  hang  over  his 
desk  when  we  get  into  our  new  houses. 
But  he  is  n't,  because  we  are  going  to  give 
it  to  him,  you  and  I,  when  you  come,  and 
then  we  will  all  go  together  and  try  to 
make  the  originals  of  it  happier  because 
we  are  so  happy  ourselves.  The  money  I 
have  been  saving  will  be  enough,  I  am 
sure,  to  pay  my  share  in  starting  the  paper, 
for  we  will  only  have  a  few  little  engraving 
and  composition  and  stationery  bills  and 
postage,  and  maybe  some  salaries  to  pay, 
before  the  returns  begin  to  come  in.  But 
I  am  going  to  finish  the  picture  anyway, 


58  THE    BREAD    LINE 

so  's  to  have  it  ready,  and  Perny  and  Van 
both  say  it  is  the  best  thing,  so  far,  I  have 
ever  done.  We  don't  any  of  us  work  as 
much  as  we  did,  but  then  it  has  taken  such 
a  lot  of  time  to  plan  for  -the  paper  that  we 
could  n't,  and,  after  all,  a  few  dollars  invested 
that  way  now  will  count  so  much  for  us  all 
by  and  by.  Perny  is  working  at  editing, 
too,  a  good  deal,  and  Van  and  I  help. 
We  have  already  got  some  '  copy '  at  the 
printer's,  and  Van  and  I  have  designed 
some  department  headings  and  a  title-head 
that  I  will  send  you  proofs  of  as  soon  as 
we  get  them  engraved.  We  are  going  to 
have  a  beautiful  paper,  and  if  we  can  only 
get  presses  to  print  them  fast  enough  when 
the  first  issue  goes  out  in  November,  we 
will  have  two  or  three  million  circulation 
anyway  by  the  first  of  the  year. 

"  I  know  we  will  now,  even  if  I  have  ever 
had  any  doubts  of  it  before.  I  know,  be 
cause  we  have  a  new  scheme  that  simply 
cannot  fail.  I  can't  tell  you  just  what  it 
is  in  this  letter,  because  I  don't  altogether 
understand  it  myself  yet,  but  Van  does, 
and  Perny,  for  it  is  Van's  scheme  this  time, 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  59 

and  Ferny  helped  him  work  it  out.  We 
are  going  to  '  spring  '  it  on  Barry  to-mor 
row  night,  and  it  simply  beats  the  premium 
idea  to  death,  so  Perny  says,  and  he  did  n't 
sleep  a  wink  all  night  thinking  about  it, 
nor  Van  either,  and  they  have  been  ex 
plaining  it  to  each  other  all  day  until  I 
don't  know  '  where  I  'm  at '  ;  but  they  do, 
and  they  are  sitting  outside  now,  smoking 
and  figuring  up  how  many  people  there 
are  in  the  world  who  read  English.  It  is 
called  CASH  FOR  NAMES,  and  will  catch 
them  all, — every  one, — so  Perny  says  ;  and 
as  soon  as  wre  get  it  type-written  I  will 
send  you  a  copy,  so  you  can  see  just  how 
great  it  is. 

"  And  now,  Dorry  dear,  I  have  n't  told 
you  anything  at  all,  though  I  have  written 
a  long  letter,  and  there  is  so  much  you 
would  rather  hear  than  all  the  things  I  have 
said.  When  I  write  I  only  think  of  you, 
Dorry,  and  how  I  hunger  to  see  your 
beautiful  face,  and  how  long  the  time  will 
be  until  I  shall  take  you  in  my  arms  and 
never  let  you  go  again.  Oh,  sweetheart, 
I  never,  never  could  give  you  up,  unless, 


60  THE   BREAD    LINE 

of  course,  something  dreadful  should  hap 
pen,  such  as  my  going  blind  or  being  run 
over  and  half  killed  by  a  cable  car,  or  if 
the  paper  should  fail  and  wreck  us  all, 
which  I  know  can't  happen  now.  I  have 
thought  I  ought  to,  sometimes,  for  your 
sake,  but  I  know  now  I  never  could  have 
done  it,  for,  sleeping  or  waking,  I  am, 
Dorothy,  through  all  eternity,  your 

"TRUE." 


VI 

CASH    FOR    NAMES 

THE  air  was  charged  with  a  burden  of 
mystery  and  moment  when  the  three 
who  strove  together  in  rooms  near  Union 
Square  joined  the  man  who  did  something 
in  an  editorial  way  at  the  latter's  office, 
and  proceeded  with  him  to  the  Grand 
Union  restaurant. 

"  We  have  a  tale  to  unfold  that  will 
make  your  hair  curl,"  said  Perner,  as  they 
stepped  out  on  the  lighted  street.  "  Van 
has  had  an  inspiration.  Premiums  are  not 
in  it  with  this! " 

"By  gad,  no!"  agreed  Livingstone. 
"  It  's  the  greatest  thing  yet!" 

"Good!"     shouted     Barrifield,     above 
the  crash  of  the  street.      "  Good!" 
61 


62  THE    BREAD    LINE 

Van  Dorn  modestly  remained  silent. 
Perner  made  an  effort  to  keep  up  the  con 
versation,  but  the  roar  of  the  cobble  made 
results  unsatisfactory  and  difficult.  It  was 
a  good  mile  to  the  Grand  Union,  but  Bar- 
rifield  explained  sotto  voce  as  they  entered 
that  it  was  the  only  place  for  steamed  soft 
clams  in  town.  Soft  clams  appealed  to 
Perner,  and  any  lingering  doubts  he  may 
have  had  of  Barrifield's  ability  as  business 
manager  disappeared  at  this  statement. 
Livingstone,  who  was  not  quite  so  tall 
as  the  others,  had  kept  up  with  some 
difficulty,  and  was  puffing  a  little  as  they 
seated  themselves  at  a  table  in  one 
corner. 

"  I  know  now  what  it  means  to  start 
a  paper,"  he  observed  reflectively.  "  It 
means  first  to  walk  a  good  ways  and 
then  eat  something.  That  's  what  we  've 
been  doing  ever  since  we  started." 

"  Better  eat  while  we  've  got  a  chance," 
said  Van  Dorn.  "  If  the  '  Whole  Family  ' 
fails  we  '11  walk  without  eating." 

"  We  can  afford  to  eat  on  Van's  new 
scheme,"  said  Perner.  "  It  's  worth  it." 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  63 

Barrifield  laughed  comfortably. 

"  What  is  your  scheme  ?  "  he  asked,  see 
ing  that  Perner  was  waiting  anxiously  to 
unload. 

"  Wait, "interrupted  Van  Dorn.  "  Here  's 
the  waiter.  Let  's  give  the  order,  and 
then  we  '11  have  a  couple  of  hours  to  talk 
while  he  's  catching  the  clams." 

Perner  subsided,  and  each  seized  a  bill 
of  fare,  which  was  studied  writh  stern 
solemnity  for  some  moments.  Dinner 
was  a  matter  of  perhaps  more  respectful 
consideration  with  these  rather  prosperous 
bohemians  than  even  the  new  paper,  which 
they  still  regarded,  and  possibly  with  some 
reason,  as  a  sort  of  farce,  or  than  the  Muses, 
whom  they  were  inclined  to  woo  somewhat 
cavalierly. 

"  I  should  think  two  portions  of  clams 
would  be  enough,"  suggested  Van  Dorn, 
at  length ;  "  then  we  can  have  something 
solid  in  the  way  of  meat  and  things." 

Perner  protested. 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  Van!  I  want  a  full  por 
tion  myself,  and  Barry  wants  one,  too ; 
don't  you,  Barry?  " 


64  THE   BREAD    LINE 

Barrifield,  who  had  come  from  a  coast 
where  pie  and  clams  are  the  natural  heri 
tage,  suggested  that,  as  the  portions  here 
were  something  less  than  a  peck  each, 
they  might  compromise  on  three.  This 
Perner  reluctantly  agreed  to,  and  the 
usual  extra  sirloin  with  mushrooms  was 
added.  Pie  was  then  selected  by  Perner 
and  Barrifield,  and  various  delicacies  by 
the  others. 

"  A  large  pot  of  coffee,"  concluded  Van 
Dorn. 

"  Ale  with  the  clams,"  suggested  Liv 
ingstone.  The  others  nodded. 

"  Martinis  first,"  interrupted  Perner. 
Then  to  the  waiter,  "  Four  Martinis — and 
don't  be  all  night  getting  them  here." 

"  Rochefort,  and  Panetela  cigars  with 
the  coffee,"  supplemented  Barrifield. 

"  Cigarettes  for  me,"  corrected  Living 
stone,  "  Turkish  Sultanas,  small  package, 
gold  tips." 

There  was  a  note  of  gold  in  the  at 
mosphere.  The  order  was  not  prodigal, 
but  there  was  an  unstinted  go-as-you- 
please  manner  about  it  which  made  the 


CASH    FOR    NAMES  65 

waiter  bow  and  vanish  hastily.  Barrifield 
turned  to  Perner. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  what  's  your  great 
scheme  ?  " 

Perner  had  already  drawn  a  folded 
type-written  sheet  from  his  inside  coat 
pocket. 

"  It  's  Van's  idea,"  he  said,  with  becom 
ing  modesty.  "  I  may  have  elaborated  it 
some  and  put  it  into  words,  that  's  all. 
But  it  's  simply  tremendous!  Premiums 
have  been  done.  Cameras  and  watches 
have  been  given  with  twelve  papers  of 
bluing  or  needles,  but  this  thing  has  never 
been  done  by  anybody — at  least,  not  in 
this  form." 

"That  's  right!"  said  Livingstone. 

"No,  sir,  old  man;  I  don't  believe  it 
has,"  confessed  Van  Dorn,  with  some  re 
luctance  at  doing  justice  to  his  own  con 
ception. 

Barrifield  looked  from  one  to  the  other 
with  large  expectancy  in  his  eyes. 

"  Let  's  hear  it,"  he  said  anxiously. 

Perner  unfolded  the  paper  and  glanced 
at  the  tables  about  them  to  see  that  no  one 


66  THE   BREAD    LINE 

was  listening.  Then  he  began  to  read  in 
a  low,  earnest  voice : 

"CASH    PAID    FOR    NAMES! 

TWENTY-FIVE  CENTS   FOR    EACH! 

"The  proprietors  of  the  ' Whole  Family/  the 
greatest  and  most  magnificent  weekly  paper  ever 
published,  make  to  the  whole  English-speaking 
world  the  following  unheard-of  offer. 

"  I  got  that  style  of  eloquence  from 
Frisby's  advertisements,"  Perner  paused  to 
explain.  "  It  catches  'em,  you  know." 
The  others  nodded.  Perner  continued : 

"To  any  one,  old  or  young,  in  any  part  of  the 
globe,  who  will  send  us  a  list  of  twenty  names  of 
men  or  women,  boys  or  girls,  likely  to  be  interested 
in  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  superb,  illustrated 
family  weekly  ever  published,  we  will  send  our 
marvelous  paper,  the  'Whole  Family,'  for  four 
consecutive  weeks  free  of  charge,  and  we  will  pay 
the  sender 

TWENTY-FIVE   CENTS    IN    CASH    FOR   EACH    NAME 

added  to  our  subscription-books  on  or  before 
November  i,  1897.  Remember,  there  is  no  can 
vassing  !  You  select  twenty  good  names  and  send 


CASH    FOR    NAMES  67 

them  to  us  by  letter  or  postal  card.  We  do  the 
rest.  If  you  pick  names  of  twenty  good  people  we 
will  get  twenty  subscribers,  and  you  will  get 

FIVE    DOLLARS    IN    CASH    FOR    FIVE    MINUTES' 
WORK, 

besides  our  matchless  paper  free  for  one  month  ! 
Remember !  Five  dollars  for  twenty  names- 
no  more  !  " 

Perner  finished  reading  and  looked 
steadily  at  Barrifield,  as  did  Van  Dorn 
and  Livingstone.  Barrifield  was  reflecting 
deeply  with  closed  eyes. 

"They  send  in  the  names  of  .twenty 
people,"  he  meditated;  "we  mail  sample 
copies  to  them,  and  pay  the  sender  twenty- 
five  cents  for  each  one  that  subscribes. 
\Ve  don't  pay  till  they  subscribe,  do  we  ?  " 

"  Why,  no,  of  course  not!  "  Perner  was 
slightly  annoyed  that  Barrifield  did  not 
catch  the  scheme  instantly,  though  it  had 
taken  him  and  Van  Dorn  two  full  days  to 
become  entirely  clear  on  it  themselves. 
"  You  see,"  he  continued,  "  we  '11  send  sam 
ple  copies  to  each  of  these  names  for  two 
weeks.  The  sender  of  the  names  will  also 


68  THE    BREAD    LINE 

be  getting  his  sample  copies,  and  knowing 
that  twenty-five  cents  is  to  come  from 
every  subscriber,  he  '11  talk  up  the  paper 
among  others.  He  '11  be  an  agent  without 
knowing  it.  The  unpleasant  feature  of 
soliciting  subscribers  will  be  all  done  away 
with.  He  '11  pick  the  best  names,  of 
course,  in  the  first  place — people  that  he 
knows  are  dead  sure  to  take  the  paper. 
We  '11  get  up  a  paper  they  can't  help 
taking.  He  '11  get  five  dollars  in  cash,  and 
we  '11  get  twenty  subscribers  to  the  '  Whole 
Family.'  " 

"  Twenty-one,"  corrected  Van  Dorn. 
"  The  sender  of  the  names  will  subscribe, 
of  course  — he  '11  have  to,  as  an  example 
to  the  others." 

"  Perny  's  going  to  send  him  a  special 
confidential  circular,"  put  in  Livingstone, 
"  thanking  him  for  his  interest  and  calling 
him  '  Dear  Friend.'  ' 

"  And  a  hundred  thousand  people  will 
send  lists,"  said  Perner.  "  A  hundred 
thousand  lists  with  twenty  names  to  the 
list  will  be  two  million  names.  Every  one 
of  them  will  subscribe — every  one  of  them ! 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  69 

But  say  they  don't— say,  to  be  on  the  safe 
side,  that  only  ten  of  them  subscribe 
before  November  I  ;  say  that  only  five 
of  them  do.  There  's  one  half-million 
subscribers  to  start  with — one  half-million 
subscribers  on  the  first  day  of  Novem 
ber,  when  we  mail  our  first  regular  sub 
scription  issue!  What  do  you  think  of 
that?" 

It  was  just  the  sort  of  scheme  to  appeal 
to  Barrifield.  As  the  fascination  of  it 
dawned  upon  him  he  regarded  wonder- 
ingly  each  of  the  conspirators  in  turn. 

"  I  think,"  he  said  at  last,  with  slow 
emphasis  and  gravity,  "  I  think  it  simply 
tre-mendous  !  " 

Van  Dorn's  eyes  glistened,  and  Living 
stone  leaned  forward  as  if  to  speak. 
Perner  could  scarcely  keep  his  seat. 

"Wait,  then,"  he  said  jubilantly,  "wait 
till  you  hear  the  rest  of  it!  That  's  only 
the  beginning.  Listen  to  this!" 

u'Sh!"  cautioned  Van  Dorn,  glancing 
at  the  tables  near  them,  some  of  whose 
occupants  seemed  attracted  by  the  evident 
excitement  of  their  neighbors.  Perner  had 


70  THE   BREAD    LINE 

drawn  forth  a  second  paper,  and  lowered 
his  voice  almost  to  a  whisper. 

"This,"  he  said,  "  is  the  second  chapter 
and  contains  the  climax.  The  one  I  just 
read  will  appear  in  outside  papers  before 
our  first  issue  is  out.  This  will  appear  in 
our  own  sample  copies,  and  is  what  will 
clench  and  make  subscribers  of  every  name 
that  comes.  Listen! 

"CASH    PAID    FOR   NAMES! 
POTS  OF  GOLD!     POTS  OF  GOLD!     NO  WORK! 

"Any  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman,  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  who  shall  become  a  subscriber  to  the 
'Whole  Family  '—the  greatest,  cheapest,  and  most 
beautiful  weekly  paper  ever  published— may  send, 
with  his  or  her  subscription  price  of  one  dollar,  a 
list  of  twenty  names  of  those  most  likely  to  be  in 
terested  in  this  marvelous  home  paper,  and  receive 

TWENTY-FIVE   CENTS    IN  CASH    FOR    EACH   AND 
EVERY    NAME 

added  to  our  subscription  list  before  December  i 
of  the  present  year.  By  selecting  the  best  names 
before  they  are  taken  by  others,  and  subscribing 
now,  you  are  certain  to  get  your  money  back  and 
a  snug  sum  for  Christmas  besides  !  Don't  wait  a  mo 
ment  !  Select  sure  winners  and  send  them  to  us 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  71 

with  the  small  subscription  price  of  a  dollar  !  You 
get  five  for  one  in  return,  and  the  most  glorious 
paper  ever  printed  besides  !  " 

Perner  paused  and  looked  straight  at 
Barrifield.  The  big  blond  dreamer  was 
regarding  them  in  a  dazed  way. 

"That  means,"  he  said  at  last,  huskily, 
"  another  list  of  names  with  each  of  our 
half-million  or  million  subscriptions,  and 
then  —  " 

"  And  then,"  said  Van  Dorn,  unable  to 
hold  in  another  second,  "  sample  copies  and 
the  same  inducements  to  the  new  names 
for  another  month,  and  the  same  to  the 
names  these  send  for  still  another  month, 
and  so  on  until  we  have  the  whole  English- 
reading  world  on  our  subscription  list,  and 
there  are  no  more  names  to  send,  except 
as  people  are  born  and  grow  up.  There 
are  fifteen  million  English-speaking  fami 
lies  in  the  United  States,  not  to  mention 
Canada,  England,  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
India,  and  South  Africa,  and  we  '11  have 
them  all  in  a  year!  In  a  year!  Every 
one  of  them  !  " 

"  In  a  year!  "  said  Perner.   "  We  '11  have 


72  THE   BREAD    LINE 

them  in  six  months!  Less!  Why,"  he 
continued  excitedly,  "  even  starting  with 
but  a  single  unit  and  doubling,  you  get  a 
million  with  twenty  multiplications,  and 
starting,  as  we  will,  with  half  a  million  or 
more  names  to  begin  with,  and  getting 
twenty  new  names  for  each  on  the  next 
round,  and  so  continuing,  we  'd  have — 
allowing  that  only  one  fourth  of  them  sub 
scribe — we  'd  have  fifty  million  subscribers 
— if  there  were  that  many  in  the  universe 
— in  three  rounds !  Six  months !  Why, 
in  less  than  a  month  people  will  be  scratch 
ing  the  world  with  garden-rakes  to  find 
anybody  that  is  n't  already  a  subscriber, 
and  even  in  China  and  the  interior  of 
Africa  the  '  Whole  Family '  will  have 
become  the  great  civilizer  and  diffuser  of 
the  English  tongue." 

Livingstone's  face  flushed  and  paled 
by  turns,  and  his  eyes  sparkled. 

"  By  gad,  yes ! "  he  said.      "  By  gad !  " 

It  was  the  last  word.  In  the  contem 
plation  of  this  stupendous  proposition  no 
one  could  utter  another  syllable. 

The   Martinis   came   on  just   then,  and 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  73 

went  down  with  a  hot  sizzle.  Barrifield 
was  first  to  recover  his  voice.  He  was 
slow  and  deliberate  again,  though  still 
gasping  a  little,  perhaps  from  the  cocktail. 

"  Of  course  you  know,  fellows,"  he  said, 
with  an  air  of  profound  reflection,  "  that 
this  plan  is  going  to  take  a  little  more 
money.  It  involves  sending  out  a  large 
number  of  sample  copies,  and  there  '11  be 
some  little  clerk  hire  and  postage  to  pay 
before  the  money  comes  in.  It  won't  be 
much  extra,  of  course, — a  few  hundred 
dollars,  perhaps, — but  we  must  be  prompt 
paying  our  help.  And  then,  we  want  to 
have  a  bank-account.  Frisby's  scheme 
did  n't  call  for  any  outlay,  you  see,  until  the 
money  began  to  come,  and  Frisby  started 
without  a  dollar.  He  did  n't — 

"Yes,  I  know,"  interrupted  Perner; 
"  but  Frisby's  scheme  was  new  then,  and 
might  not  work  so  well  now.  We  've  got 
another  and  a  better  one  than  Frisby  or 
anybody  else  ever  had  before.  Even  if  it 
does  take  a  little  more  money  at  the  start, 
any  one  of  us  can  earn  more  in  a  week  than 
it  takes  to  pay  all  the  clerks  we  '11  need." 


74  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Livingstone;  "and 
we  '11  do  most  of  the  paper  ourselves,  so 
we  '11  save  that." 

"  We  've  got  a  great  combination,  boys/' 
said  Barrifield — "great!" 

In  the  brief  lull  that  followed  this  state 
ment,  which  so  fully  expressed  the  feeling 
of  all  present,  Perner  took  occasion  to  go 
somewhat  into  detail. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  he  said,  "  we  're 
going  to  be  flooded  with  names.  We  '11 
have  our  paper  all  made  up  and  start  the 
presses  running  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred 
thousand  a  day  the  week  before  our  ad 
vertising  appears — not  sooner  than  that, 
because  we  want  money  to  be  coming  in 
as  soon  as  possible  after  the  papers  are 
printed." 

Perner  paused  to  appreciate  the  admir 
ing  glances  of  the  others.  His  ten  years' 
business  experience  was  crystallizing  itself 
into  a  beautiful  system. 

"We  '11  have  our  clerks,"  he  continued, 
"  all  ready  with  the  books — a  book  for 
each  State — to  enter  the  names  as  soon  as 
the  answers  begin  to  come.  We  must  have 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  75 

one  distributing  clerk  with  a  little  post- 
office  arrangement  to  assort  the  letters  and 
cards  into  States  and  give  them  to  the 
others.  These  will  enter  them  and  turn 
them  over  to  another  set  of  clerks,  who 
will  address  wrappers  from  the  letters  and 
cards  themselves.  Then  the  wrappers  will 
go  to  another  set  of  clerks,  who  will  wrap 
the  papers  and  mail  them." 

The  admiration  for  Perner  grew.  It 
seemed  simplicity  itself. 

"  One  hundred  thousand  a  day,"  he 
continued,  "  will  give  us  two  million 
papers  in  about  three  weeks.  That  '11  be 
the  first  round  of  the  first  issue.  Before 
those  are  half  out  we  will  be  getting  sub 
scriptions  like  hot  cakes,  and  we  '11  have 
to  double  our  force  to  handle  them.  But 
subscriptions  mean  money,  and  with 
twenty  or  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  day 
coming  in,  we  '11  have  money  to  double 
them  up  with." 

"  If  the  subscriptions  don't  come  it  will 
double  us  up,"  laughed  Van  Dorn. 

As  for  Barrifield,  he  seemed  stupefied. 
He  had  started  the  wind,  but  the  cyclone 


76  THE    BREAD    LINE 

it  had  grown  to  was  whirling  him  along 
faster  than  he  could  follow ;  also  the  mem 
ory  of  Frisby  and  Bibles  still  clung  to  him 
somewhat,  despite  this  new  and  startling 
method  of  taking  fortune  by  storm.  He 
started  to  speak,  but  Perner,  who  had 
taken  on  fuel  enough  for  a  long  run,  was 
too  quick  for  him. 

"  When  the  first  round  of  the  first  issue 
has  been  going  out  one  day,"  he  said  with 
conviction,  "  those  subscriptions  will  begin 
to  come.  Each  subscription  will  bring 
twenty  new  names,  and  that  '11  mean 
another  round  of  the  first  issue,  and  the 
checking  off  in  the  books  of  the  people 
that  have  subscribed,  showing  just  who 
sent  them  and  what  he  is  entitled  to  in 
cash." 

"  We  '11  send  it  to  him  in  a  check,"  said 
Van  Dorn.  "  Checks  always  look  well." 

"  Then,"  continued  Perner,  "  when  these 
new  names  begin  to  come,  we  '11  com 
mence  on  the  third  round  of  the  first  issue 
to  the  names  they  send,  and  so  on  to  a 
fourth  and  even  a  fifth.  We  must  send 
as  many  rounds  of  the  first  issue  as  possi- 


CASH    FOR    NAMES  77 

blc,  for  it  contains  the  first  chapters  of  our 
serials." 

"That  's  so!"  interjected  Livingstone, 
"  it  does!  " 

"  Of  course,  our  first  and  second  issues," 
Ferner  went  on,  "  will  have  to  be  dated 
ahead,  because  we  '11  start  on  them  about 
the  1st  of  October.  But  the  third  issue 
can  come  in  in  regular  place,  and  by  the 
time  we  get  to  the  third  round  of  the  first 
issue,  and  the  second  round  of  the  second 
issue,  and  the  first  round  of  the  third  issue, 
we  '11  have  all  the  names  in  this  country  ; 
and  by  the  second  round  of  the  third  issue 
they  will  all  be  on  our  subscription  books, 
and  we  '11  have — even  counting  that  only 
one  out  of  four  families  subscribe — we  '11 
have  four  million  subscribers,  and  at  least 
three  million  dollars  in  the  bank  to  get  out 
the  paper  with  for  a  year,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  advertisements,  which  will  bring  in 
on  a  circulation  like  that  at  least  twelve 
thousand  dollars  a  page,  or,  allowing  three 
pages,  about  one  million  eight  hundred 
thousand  dollars  a  year  in  round  numbers." 

The  clams  had  come  and  gone,  and  the 


78  THE   BREAD    LINE 

meat  had  been  served.  Barrineld  made  a 
feeble  attempt  to  do  the  honors,  and  Liv 
ingstone  shaped  his  lips  as  if  to  speak. 
Neither  effort  was  successful.  The  four 
sat  silent,  looking  far  beyond  the  fear  of 
penury  and  the  dreams  of  avarice  into  a 
land  where  mountains  were  banked  with 
jewels  and  all  the  rivers  ran  gold.  Indeed, 
the  face  of  Livingstone  seemed  glorified 
by  a  sort  of  ecstasy.  The  revulsion  fell 
first  upon  Van  Dorn,  and  wakened  in  him 
that  spirit  of  the  ludicrous  which  was  never 
far  distant  from  any  of  them. 

"  It  's  all  right,  of  course,"  he  began 
with  assumed  gravity.  "  We  're  certain 
to  be  millionaires  when  we  get  to  going, 
but  what  I  want  to  know  is  whether,  in 
the  meantime,  we  can  stand  off  the 
printer." 

The  others  laughed. 

"  You  see,  I  know  printers,"  continued 
Van  Dorn.  "  I  had  a  cousin  who  was  a 
printer,  and  I  've  seen  fellows  try  to  stand 
him  off.  He  nearly  always  had  his  sleeves 
rolled  up,  and  when  a  man  came  to  stand 
him  off,  he  used  to  walk  back  to  the  sink, 


CASH    FOR    NAMES  79 

with  the  fellow  following  and  talking ;  and 
my  cousin  would  wash  his  hands  under 
the  tap  while  he  listened,  and  then  wipe 
them  on  the  towel  that  hung  over  it.  You 
never  saw  a  printer's  towel,  did  you  ? 
Well,  it  is  n't  a  very  cheerful  thing,  and 
my  cousin  was  just  about  as  cheerful  as  it 
was.  He  'd  stand  there  and  listen,  and 
wipe  and  listen,  and  not  say  anything, 
while  the  fellow  'd  talk  and  talk  and  look 
at  that  towel  that  had  n't  been  washed 
since  the  shop  opened.  Then  he  'd  look 
at  my  cousin  and  say  some  of  the  things 
over  again  in  a  discouraged  sort  of  a  way, 
and  commence  to  miss  connection  and  slip 
cogs,  and  pretty  soon  he  'd  sneak  off,  and 
my  cousin  would  give  one  more  wipe  on 
the  paleozoic  towel,  and  then  walk  back 
and  say  a  few  things  to  the  press-boys 
that  would  knock  chunks  out  of  the  im 
posing-stone.  Now,  what  I  want  to  knowr 
is  if  we  can  go  to  that  fellow  with  his 
sleeves  rolled  up  and  get  the  second  round 
of  the  first  issue  or  the  first  round  of  any 
old  issue  without  the  money  down." 

Van  Dorn's  remarks  slackened  the  ten- 


8o  THE    BREAD    LINE 

sion  somewhat,  and  after  considerable 
banter  all  around,  Perner  explained  that 
they  would  only  want  accommodation  on  a 
hundred  thousand  copies  or  so  of  the  first 
round  of  the  first  issue  for  a  few  days  until 
subscriptions  began  to  flow  in.  Frisby, 
he  reminded  them,  had  found  no  difficulty 
in  getting  a  million  copies  without  a  dollar, 
and  Perner  felt  sure  that,  with  the  present 
competition,  almost  any  of  the  big  printing- 
houses  would  hug  their  knees,  as  Barry 
had  put  it,  to  get  the  work.  There  would 
be  some  small  bills  for  stationery  and  com 
position  right  at  the  start,  perhaps  some 
for  the  engraving.  These  they  would 
discount  and  settle  on  presentation. 

"  We  '11  have  to  pay  our  advertising 
man's  salary,  too,"  he  said,  "  and  with  this 
scheme  we  want  to  get  a  good,  energetic 
man  and  start  him  out  soliciting  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  He  can  get 
enough  contracts  on  the  basis  of  even  a 
million  circulation  to  pay  for  all  the 
rounds  of  the  first  issue,  and  we  can  use 
those  contracts  as  a  basis  of  credit,  too,  if 
we  have  to." 


CASH    FOR   NAMES  Si 

This  remark  created  a  visible  sensation 
and  a  fresh  regard  for  Perner's  business 
experience  and  energy,  which  was  gradu 
ally  becoming  the  backbone  of  the  whole 
enterprise.  Barrifield  meantime  had  pulled 
himself  together  and  was  smoking  with  his 
usual  deliberation. 

"  Boys,"  he  said,  "  we  've  got  the  big 
gest  thing  on  earth.  We  could  win  either 
way,  hands  down — either  with  premiums 
or  cash  for  names.  But  we  want  to  be 
certain — certain!  We  don't  want  any 
possibility  of  failure.  And  to  make  as 
surance  doubly  sure,  I  am  in  favor  of 
using  both." 

This  made  something  of  a  sensation. 
Perner  showed  combative  tendencies. 

"We  can't  afford  it,  Barry,"  he  said 
with  conviction.  "  We  are  already  giving 
twenty-five  cents  out  of  our  dollar  to  the 
fellow  who  sends  the  names,  and  if  we 
give  even  fifty  cents  more  for  a  pre 
mium  we  '11  have  only  twenty-five  cents 
left." 

Barrifield  leaned  back  and  closed  his 
eyes. 


82  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"We  could  afford  it,"  he  said,  "if  we 
did  n't  have  five  cents  left.  Counting- 
even  only  a  million  and  a  half  a  year  re 
turn  from  the  advertising,  we  could,  by 
producing  the  papers  in  such  quantity,  still 
pay  all  expenses  and  have  a  hundred  thou 
sand  or  so  apiece  left  at  the  end  of  the 
year.  It  is  n't  a  good  plan  to  try  to  make 
too  much  the  first  year.  It  invites  com 
petition.  I  believe  in  going  moderately 
and  being  sure  —  don't  you,  fellows?" 
turning  to  Van  Dorn  and  Livingstone. 

Van  Dorn  looked  over  at  Perner  anx 
iously. 

"  I  should  n't  wonder  if  Barry  was 
right,  old  man,"  he  said  in  a  conciliatory 
tone. 

"  We  don't  have  to  pay  for  premiums, 
you  know,  until  we  have  money  coming 
in  to  do  it  with,"  added  Barrifield. 

"That 's  so,"  said  Livingstone,—"  that 's 
so!  We  '11  have  both!  Suppose  we  go 
now,  fellows,"  he  added,  rather  anxiously; 
"  I  've  got  a  letter  to  write." 

"  Stony  's  always  got  a  letter  to  write," 
commented  Van  Dorn. 


CASH    FOR    NAMES  83 

The  others  nodded,  but  said  nothing. 

They  arose  from  the  table  in  vast  friend 
ship  with  each  other.  The  repast  had  been 
bountiful.  In  after  days  it  was  referred 
to  as  the  great  dinner. 

Also — sometimes — as  the  last  dinner. 


VII 

A  LETTER  FROM  MISS  DOROTHY  CASTLE 
OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR.  TRUMAN  LIV 
INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK 

DEAR  OLD  TRUE:  I  am  simply  in  a 
whirl.  The  copies  you  sent  of  the 
'  cash  for  names '  circulation  plan  have 
set  me  to  going  till  my  feet  no  longer 
seem  to  touch  anything.  I  have  covered 
all  my  stationery  with  figures,  and  my  desk 
fairly  reeks  with  millions.  You  know  I 
never  cared  much  for  figures  before,  and  I 
was  never  very  good  at  them  when  we 
went  to  school  together,  especially  frac 
tions;  but  there  are  no  fractions  about  this 
— it 's  all  just  tens  and  hundreds  and  thou 
sands  and  millions, — a  perfect  wilderness 
of  decimals, — and  I  enjoy  them  so  much 
84 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  85 

that  I  get  up  early  in  the  morning  to  play 
with  them.  I  have  taken  all  the  figures 
you  sent  me,  showing  the  cost  of  paper 
and  printing  and  so  on,  and  calculated  over 
and  over,  and  then  divided  by  two,  and 
sometimes  three  to  be  on  the  safe  side, 
and  even  then  I  don't  know  what  we  shall 
do  with  all  the  money. 

"I  '11  tell  you,  True— we  '11  build 
things.  We  '11  build  hospitals  and  asy 
lums  and  libraries,  and  first  of  all  we  '11 
build  a  great  place  where  those  poor  men 
who  now  get  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  loaf  of 
bread  can  get  a  good  warm  meal  and  have 
a  bed  to  sleep  in  afterward.  And  we  '11 
build  one  like  it  for  poor  women,  too. 
And  then,  by  and  by,  we  '11  build  a  great, 
beautiful  place  where  artists  and  writers, 
when  they  get  old,  can  live  in  ease  and 
comfort,  and  not  have  anything  to  pay 
unless  they  are  able.  Not  in  the  way  of 
charity,  I  mean,  but  as  the  just  reward 
that  wealth  owes  to  those  who  have  given 
their  years  and  strength  to  make  the  world 
better  and  happier.  Only,  wealth  never 
understands  and  realizes  its  debt.  But  we 


86  THE    BREAD    LINE 

will,  True,  because  we  know,  and  Van  and 
Ferny  will  help,  and  Barry,  too.  And 
then,  when  we  have  grown  old,  perhaps 
we  will  go  there  to  stay.  I  am  not  quite 
sure  about  that,  but  it  would  be  beautiful, 
I  know,  for  it  would  be  like  the  houses  we 
are  going  to  have  side  by  side,  only  on  a 
larger  scale ;  and  then,  it  would  be  in  the 
country,  where  there  are  green  fields  and 
fresh  air  and  big  trees  and  clear  brooks. 
We  will  have  beautiful  grounds  reaching 
in  every  direction,  like  those  around  Wind 
sor  Castle,  that  I  once  saw  when  in  Eng 
land.  And  everybody  will  do  as  they 
please,  and  read  and  write  and  paint  what 
they  like,  or  sit  in  the  sun  and  shade,  and 
so  drift  out  of  life  as  gently  as  the  brown 
leaf  falls  and  floats  out  to  the  eternal  sea. 
"  I  do  not  mean  to  grow  poetic,  True, 
but  I  have  always  thought  about  such  a 
place  as  that,  and  to  me  it  has  seemed  just 
as  I  have  tried  to  make  it  appear  to  you. 
I  know  you  will  understand,  too,  and  your 
artist  fancy  will  conceive  things  of  which 
I  do  not  even  dream.  I  never  hoped  that 
it  could  be  possible  for  me  to  realize  this 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  87 

vision,  though  it  has  always  been  very 
near  my  heart,  and  once  I  even  spoke 
about  it  to  papa.  But  then,  he  is  n't  rich 
like  that,  and,  besides,  our  family  is  large 
and  the  boys  have  to  be  started  in  life. 

"  I  was  perfectly  crazy  at  first  to  tell 
papa  about  the  '  cash  for  names '  plan, 
and  should  have  done  so  if  you  had  n't 
pledged  me  to  solemn  secrecy.  Of  course, 
I  know  how  dangerous  it  would  be  for 
any  other  paper  to  find  it  out  before  you 
get  started,  but  I  know  papa  would  not  tell 
a  soul  if  I  told  him  not  to.  Only  I  am 
glad  now  that  I  could  n't,  for  he  is  so 
conservative,  you  know,  in  his  business 
methods  that  I  am  sure  he  would  have 
laughed  at  the  plan,  and  perhaps  proved 
to  me  in  some  way  that  it  was  n't  practical 
—  I  mean,  of  course,  he  might  have  made 
me  believe  it  was  n't  practical,  for  he  knows 
so  much  about  business  and  is  always  so 
matter-of-fact  that  I  can't  argue  with  him 
at  all.  Then  I  should  have  been  discour 
aged  and  uneasy,  instead  of  overflowing 
with  happiness  and  dreams. 

"  I   am  glad   you  are   going  to  have   a 


88  THE   BREAD    LINE 

good  man  to  solicit  advertising  right  away  ; 
and  how  fine  it  is  that  he  can  get  those 
cash  contracts  before  the  paper  starts,  so 
you  can  have  ample  means  right  from  the 
first!  It  all  seems  so  simple  and  easy  now 
that  I  wonder  people  have  not  done  these 
things  long  ago.  But  it  is  always  that 
way — the  simple  things  are  the  great  ones 
and  the  last  to  be  found  out.  It  is  n't 
often,  either,  that  those  who  discover  them 
get  the  benefit,  and  that  seems  too  bad; 
but  it  is  a  comfort  to  feel  that  at  last 
genius  is  to  have  its  just  reward,  especially 
when  it  is  the  genius  of  those  near  and  dear 
to  us,  and  when  through  it  so  many  others 
will  be  benefited  and  made  happy,  too. 

"  I  am  awfully  interested  in  what  you 
have  told  me  now  and  then  about  your 
picture  of  the  bread  line,  and  the  little 
sketch  you  made  of  it  on  the  margin  of 
your  last  letter  is  delightful.  I  hope  you 
will  not  let  it  go  unfinished,  though  I 
know,  of  course,  you  are  very  busy  and 
have  so  much  to  think  of.  But  painting 
will  be  a  rest  to  you,  sometimes,  and  a 
change ;  and  then,  I  like  to  think  of  you  at 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  89 

your  work,  too.  Besides,  it  must  be  com 
pleted  when  I  come,  you  know,  and  that 
will  be — well,  no;  I  'm  not  quite  ready  to 
fix  the  exact  date  yet,  because,  you  see, 
you  will  have  so  much  to  do  for  a  while, 
even  after  the  paper  is  started,  that  I  think 
we  would  better  wait  until  it  is  fairly  under 
way  before  you  try  to  leave,  even  if  that 
should  not  be  much  before  the  holidays. 

"  We  can  wait  and  see,  and  when  the  time 
comes  I  shall  be  ready,  for  papa  does  n't 
believe  in  grand  weddings,  nor  I,  either, 
and  I  shall  have  very  little  preparation 
to  make.  Some  day,  when  the  '  second 
round  of  the  third  issue  '  is  off,  and  the 
'  first  round  of  the  fourth  issue  '  is  started, 
when  the  subscriptions  are  whirling  in  like 
snowflakes  through  which  you  are  gliding 
smoothly  and  well  to  fortune,  then  you  may 
write  to  me,  True,  that  you  are  coming, 
and  I  will  be  ready.  I  know  that  June  is 
the  month  for  weddings,  but  it  is  always 
June  in  the  heart  where  love  is,  and,  be 
sides,  New  York  is  at  its  best  in  winter 
and  spring,  and  when  summer  really  does 
come  we  can  go  where  our  fancy  takes  us. 


90  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"True,  when  you  went  away,  and  we 
said  to  each  other  that  we  would  wait 
until  you  had  made  a  place  for  yourself  in 
the  world, — until  you  had  '  arrived/  as  you 
called  it, — the  time  of  waiting  seemed  long. 
That  was  three  years  ago,  but,  after  all, 
they  have  been  swift,  sweet  years,  even 
though  we  have  not  seen  each  other  often. 
For  little  by  little  and  step  by  step  you 
did  '  arrive,'  until  we  both  knew  you  had 
the  solid  ground  of  success  under  your 
feet.  The  joy  of  battle  made  the  days  go 
quickly  to  you,  while  the  joy  of  watching 
you  has  been  sweet  to  me.  So  you  will 
not  be  impatient  now,  for  this  new  triumph 
which  will  come  still  more  quickly  will 
make  the  weeks  go  even  faster,  and  while 
it  is  not  my  best  ambition  for  you,  and 
only  a  means  to  an  end,  I  still  rejoice  with 
you  and  am  proud  of  you  in  it  all.  Good- 
by,  True. 

"  With  all  my  love, 

"  DOROTHY. 

"  P.S.  Papa  just  came  in  with  the  little 
roll  from  you  containing  proofs  of  the  title 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  91 

and  department  headings.  They  are 
beautiful.  He  noticed  all  the  pages  on 
my  desk  covered  with  figures,  and  asked 
me  if  I  were  estimating  the  cost  of  a  new 
Easter  bonnet! 

"DORRY." 


VIII 

THE    COURSE    OF    EVENTS 

MATTERS  seemed  to  start  with  an 
exasperating  lack  of  rapidity — so 
much  so  that  in  midsummer  Perner  de 
clared  they  seemed  considerably  farther 
from  the  first  issue  now  than  they  had 
been  on  the  night  at  the  Hotel  Martin. 
It  is  true,  he  had  a  "  dummy"  put  to 
gether,  all  blank  except  the  first  page  and 
the  department  headings,  while  at  the 
printer's  there  was  almost  enough  matter 
to  fill  the  blank  columns,  if  only  Stony 
and  Van  would  talk  less  and  complete  the 
drawings  they  had  started. 

He  said  despairingly  one  morning  to 
Barrifield,  who  had  dropped  in  for  a 
moment : 

92 


THE   COURSE   OF   EVENTS  93 

"  We  ought  to  be  running  a  semi-annual 
instead  of  a  weekly.  I  think  we  could  just 
about  get  out  two  issues  of  the  paper  in  a 
year." 

Barrifield  assured  him  that  they  were 
doing  beautifully,  and  that  matters  would 
go  like  clockwork  when  once  they  got 
started.  For  himself,  he  declared  that  he 
was  getting  along  swimmingly,  and  dis 
played  a  number  of  more  or  less  impossible 
premiums  which  he  had  pursued  by  myste 
rious  and  exciting  methods  to  that  guarded 
and  hidden  chamber  which  he  still  referred 
to  in  hushed  tones  as  the  "inside."  He 
had  also  made  a  discovery  in  the  way  of  an 
advertising  man  whom  he  described  as  being 
the  very  man  for  the  place — in  fact,  a  jewel ! 

"  Recommended  by  Jackson,  of  the  Jack 
son  &  Marsh  Advertising  Agency,"  he  an 
nounced  triumphantly,  "  and  by  Rushly,  of 
the  '  Home  Monthly  ' — been  with  them 
two  years  and  had  the  benefit  of  Rushly's 
training.  Says  Bates  —  that  's  his  name  — 
is  a  great  hustler." 

"  Why  does  n't  he  stay  with  the  '  Home,' 
then?  "  Perner  spoke  rather  impatiently. 


94  THE   BREAD   LINE 

"  No  chance  of  advancement.  Rushly 
is  head  man  there  and  certain  to  stay. 
Bates  wants  to  begin  with  a  new  paper 
that  is  sure  to  go.  I  was  talking  to  Jack 
son  to-day  about  what  we  were  going  to 
do  and  he  mentioned  Bates.  Jackson,  by 
the  way,  thinks  our  scheme  great.  He  'd 
take  stock  in  it  in  a  minute  if  we  'd  let 
him." 

"Did  he  say  so?" 

"  No ;  of  course  he  could  n't  do  that, 
but  I  could  tell  by  the  way  he  talked. 
There  '11  be  no  trouble,  though,  about  get 
ting  all  the  time  of  him  we  want  on  our 
advertising." 

"Did  he  say  that?" 

"  No  ;  I  did  n't  ask  him.  But  he  was  as 
friendly  as  could  be,  and  gave  me  a  lot  of 
good  advice  about  advertising  and  adver 
tisers.  He  said  we  ought  to  have  a  man 
like  Bates,  and  then  put  those  matters  en 
tirely  into  his  hands.  I  gathered  from  him 
that  there  was  a  sort  of  an  inside  circle  that 
worked  together,  and  that  unless  a  man 
was  in  it  he  did  n't  have  much  show." 

"Bates  is  in  the  ring,  of  course." 


THE    COURSE    OE    EVENTS  95 

"  Of  course!  And  in  addition  to  secur 
ing  advertising  contracts  for  us,  he  can 
place  our  ads  too.  Jackson  said  he  would 
do  better  for  Bates  on  a  cash  discount 
than  he  would  for  anybody." 

"  But  I  thought  we  were  going  to  get 
credit?  " 

"  Of  course,  until  the  advertising  is  out. 
That  's  cash,  you  know,  and  when  it  's  out 
we  '11  have  money  coming  right  in  to  pay 
for  it.  That  's  the  way  Frisby  did." 

"  Did  you  mention  that  to  him?" 

"  Why,  no  ;  but — well  you  know  I  look 
prosperous.  That  's  what  Frisby  did,  too, 
and  he  did  n't  have  a  dollar.  Jackson  said 
Bates  could  also  help  out  with  the  business 
management." 

Perner  brightened. 

Barrifield  rose  to  go. 

"  We  can't  get  him  any  too  quick, 
either,"  he  added.  "  You  've  got  your 
hands  about  full.  I  can  see  that!" 

In  fact,  Perner  was  beginning  to  look 
worn.  It  had  been  decided  some  weeks 
previous  that  a  time  had  arrived  when  one 
of  them  must  devote  himself  wholly  to  the 


96  THE   BREAD    LINE 

affairs  of  the  forthcoming  publication,  and 
as  Perner  was  to  be  editor  as  well  as  man 
ager  pro  tern.,  besides  having  but  little 
cash  to  put  in,  as  he  had  confessed  in  the 
beginning,  he  was  selected  for  the  sacrifice. 
A  stated  salary  was  agreed  upon,  which 
amount  was  to  be  applied  each  week  on 
his  stock  subscription  in  lieu  of  cash. 
How  he  was  to  live  on  the  comfortable- 
looking,  though  intangible,  figure  that 
he  passed  each  Saturday  to  his  credit  on 
stock  until  such  times  as  returns  began  to 
assume  definite  form,  he  did  not,  with  all 
his  business  experience,  pause  to  consider. 
He  began  at  once  the  task  of  shaping  their 
more  or  less  formless  fancies,  and  the 
equally  difficult  one  of  subsisting  on  the 
returns  from  certain  labors  already  con 
cluded  and  disposed  of  to  those  periodicals 
here  and  there  which,  in  some  unexplained 
manner,  have  assumed  the  privilege  of 
holding  matter  to  suit  their  convenience 
and  paying  for  it  on  publication.  These 
checks  fluttered  in  now  and  then,  and  were 
as  rare  jewels  found  by  the  wayside.  He 
was  still  confident  of  success.  If  his  en- 


THE   COURSE   OF    EVENTS  97 

thusiasm  and  flesh  had  waned  the  least  bit, 
it  was  because  realities  hitherto  uncon- 
sidered  were  becoming  daily  more  asser 
tive  and  vigorous.  Of  these  there  were 
many.  From  the  moment  of  his  return 
from  breakfast — two  hours  earlier  than  he 
had  ever  thought  necessary  in  the  old  days 
—  there  were  men  and  also  women  waiting 
to  see  him.  The  fact  of  the  "  Whole 
Family  "  had  become  known,  even  as  the 
hunted  stag  becomes  known  to  birds  of 
prey  in  the  far  empyrean,  and  solicitors  of 
all  kinds  had  begun  to  gather  at  the  first 
croaking  note  of  rumor. 

There  were  those  who  wished  to  adver 
tise  it  upon  illuminated  cards  set  in  frames 
to  be  placed  in  country  hotels  and  railway 
stations ;  there  were  others  who  would 
announce  it  by  a  system  of  painted  signs 
sown  broadcast  on  the  fences ;  and  still 
others  who  for  a  consideration  would  dis 
play  the  good  news  upon  dizzy  mountain 
cliffs  and  the  trees  of  the  mighty  forest, 
where  even  the  four-footed  kingdoms 
might  see  and  rejoice  at  the  glad  tidings. 
Of  those  who  solicited  for  publications 


98  THE   BREAD   LINE 

there  were  a  legion.  Monthlies  and  week 
lies  of  which  Perner  had  not  even  heard 
marshalled  their  clans  and  swooped  down 
in  companies,  battalions,  and  brigades. 
All  of  these  he  could  turn  over  to  Bates 
when  he  came  on :  the  printers,  en 
gravers,  contributors,  and  the  people  with 
circulation  schemes  were  enough  for  him. 
As  to  the  latter  contingent,  Van  Dorn 
and  Livingstone  relieved  him  somewhat, 
and  rather  enjoyed  doing  so.  It  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  diversion  to  them  to  listen 
to  these  wordy  emissaries  of  the  east  wind, 
who  unfolded  more  or  less  startling 
schemes  that  ranged  all  the  way  from 
a  house-to-house  canvass  for  subscribers, 
through  various  voting  contests,  up  to  the 
securing  by  lobby  an  act  of  Congress 
adopting  the  paper  as  the  official  organ  of 
some  forty  millions  of  school-children.  It 
was  more  pleasant  to  listen  and  to  discuss 
with  this  garrulous  advance-guard  of  for 
tune  in  her  various  guises  than  to  pursue 
her  more  ploddingly  at  the  easel.  This 
gave  some  relief  to  Perner,  though,  on  the 
whole,  he  would  have  preferred  seeing 


THE    COURSE    OF    EVENTS  99 

them  at  work.  Livingstone,  it  is  true, 
did  work  feverishly  at  his  painting  now 
and  then,  for  as  much  as  an  hour  or  more 
at  a  time,  and  between  him  and  Van  Dorn 
the  various  headings  and  one  or  two  other 
drawings  had  come  into  being.  But  there 
was  still  much  for  them  to  do,  and  their 
seeming  inability  to  get  down  to  business, 
now  that  matters  were  really  under  way, 
\vas  sometimes,  as  he  had  hinted  to  Barri- 
field,  altogether  discouraging.  Later  in 
the  day  he  abused  them  roundly. 

"  How  do  you  expect  we  are  going  to 
get  out  a  paper  once  a  week?"  he  asked. 
There  had  come  the  lull  which  precedes 
lunch-time,  and  Perner  was  standing  in  his 
door  and  glaring  at  them  with  undisguised 
scorn.  His  disarranged  hair  and  the  light 
on  his  glasses  gave  him  the  appearance  of 
a  very  tall  beetle.  "Once  a  week!  Do 
you  know  what  that  means?  It  means 
not  once  a  year,  nor  once  a  month,  but 
every  seven  days !  Here  we  've  been  going 
nearly  seven  months,  and  you  have  n't  got 
pictures  for  one  issue  yet!  How  in  the 
world  do  you  expect  to  get  out  from  six  to 


ioo  THE   BREAD    LINE 

eight  pictures  a  week  for  the  next  issues? 
That 's  what  you  've  got  to  do,  you  know, 
until  we  get  started  and  money  is  coming 
in  to  buy  outside  work  with.  Even  then 
we  can't  depend  on  that  for  the  class  of 
stuff  we  want.  You  could  do  it,  too,  with 
out  turning  a  hair,  if  you  'd  just  puncture 
a  few  of  these  wind-bags  that  come  along, 
and  get  down  to  work!" 

"  Oh,  pshaw!  Perny;  there  's  plenty  of 
time,"  said  Van  Dorn,  pacifically.  "  Stony 
and  I  are  Committee  on  Circulation." 

"That  's  so,"  said  Livingstone.  "We 
had  one  man  to-day  who  wanted  to  put 
copies  of  our  first  issue  into  seventeen 
million  packages  of  starch  for  distribution 
throughout  the  entire  civilized  world. 
Van  told  him  it  was  a  stiff  proposition." 

"  He  did  n't  see  the  joke,  though,"  com 
plained  Van  Dorn,  in  a  grieved  voice,  "  and 
he  looked  at  us  pityingly  when  I  told  him 
we  had  a  better  scheme." 

"'  You  did  n't  hint  at  what  it  was,  of 
course,"  said  Perner,  anxiously. 

"Not  much!  He  'd  have  gobbled  it 
up  in  a  minute  if  I  had." 


THE   COURSE   OF   EVENTS  i<M 

Perner  dropped  into  a  chair  and 
stretched  out  his  feet. 

"  When  Bates  comes  we  '11  turn  a  lot  of 
these  fellows  over  to  him,"  he  mused 
aloud.  "  The  rooms  below  us  are  empty. 
We  '11  get  them  and  put  him  in  there. 
Then  we  can  all  get  down  to  work." 

"  Those   rooms  will   more   than  double 
the  rent,  won't  they?"  asked  Van   Dorn. 
"Yes;  but  we  can't  have  that  gang  up 
here,  even  if  it  trebles  it.     We  're  not  going 
to  have  any  too  much  money,  either,  to  run 
us  through.      The  engraving  bill  came  in 
to-day,  and  the  letter  postage  is  no  small 
item.     There  '11  be  a  bill  for  composition 
on  the  1st,  and  it  '11  be  a   good  deal,  be 
cause  we  've  changed  the  style  of  type  so 
often.    Then,  Bates's  salary  will  commence 
right  away,  and   he   '11  probably  have  to 
have  a  stenographer,  and  an  allowance  for 
incidentals,   and   a   desk   and   some   other 
furniture.     You   see,   Frisby  had  a  lot  of 
things    when    he    took    the   '  Voice '   that 
we  '11  have  to  buy,  and  it  's  like  building 
a  house— it  always   takes  more  than  you 
expect  it  to.      Of   course,   when  we  once 


10?  ,THE   BREAD   LINE 

get  started  we  '11  have  money  to  throw 
at  the  birds,  but,  whatever  Frisby  may 
have  done,  it  's  beginning  to  be  pretty 
clear  to  me  that  we  '11  have  to  throw  a 
good  deal  into  other  places  before  that  time 
comes.  You  and  Stony  had  better  be 
hustling  on  a  little  outside  work,  too,  so, 
in  case  of  another  assessment — " 

They  drifted  over  to  the  Continental  for 
lunch,  where  presently  Barrifield  joined 
them.  The  Continental  was  handy  and  it 
was  also  cheaper  than  some  of  the  places 
they  had  heretofore  frequented.  Barrifield 
was  aglow  with  a  sort  of  triumphant  ex 
citement. 

"  I  've  just  seen  Bates,"  he  began,  as  he 
seated  himself.  "  Great!  Told  me  more 
about  advertising  in  five  minutes  than  I 
ever  dreamed  of.  I  could  hardly  get  away 
from  him." 

"Why  did  n't  you  bring  him  along?" 
said  Livingstone. 

"Well,  you  see,"  said  Barrifield,  lower 
ing  his  voice,  "  he  'd  been  out  hustling  all 
the  morning,  and  he  'd  had  a  drink  or  two, 
— they  have  to  do  that,  you  know, — and 


THE    COURSE    OE    EVENTS  103 

I  did  n't  know  but  he  'd  want  to  talk  too 
much.  lie  's  all  right,  though.  The 
smartest  man  I  ever  knew  could  n't  do 
business  well  until  he  'd  had  a  few  drinks." 

"That 's  so !  "  assented  Perner.  "  There  's 
lots  of  people  that  way.  When  's  he 
coming?  " 

"  Monday.  And  I  engaged  a  circulation 
man,  too." 

Barrifield  paused  to  note  the  effect  of 
this  remark.  The  others  were  regarding 
him  questioningly.  They  had  not  calcu 
lated  on  an  expense  in  this  direction  for 
the  present. 

"  He  does  n't  cost  anything,  either,"  he 
added  triumphantly. 

The  look  all  around  became  one  of  plea 
sure.  Barrifield  explained. 

"  An  old  war-horse,"  he  said.  "  Been 
circulation  manager  for  some  of  the  great 
est  publications  in  the  country.  Retired 
from  the  business  years  ago.  Been  specu 
lating  more  or  less  since,  and  not  doing 
much  of  anything  lately.  Great  traveler, 
and  used  to  write,  too.  Money  probably 
to  live  on  now,  and  wants  to  get  back  into 


104  THE   BREAD    LINE 

the  smoke  of  battle  for  the  mere  joy  of  the 
thing.  He  happened  into  the  '  Home ' 
office  while  I  was  there,  and  heard  we  were 
starting  the  'Whole  Family.'  Said  he  'd 
be  delighted  to  come  and  help  us  out  until 
we  got  to  going,  and  then  we  could  do 
what  we  wanted  to  with  him.  I  closed  a 
bargain  on  the  spot.  He  can  take  a  big 
load  off  of  you  fellows.  Great,  is  n't  it?  " 

"Bully!"  said  Van  Dorn.  "  I  suppose 
he  '11  want  to  buy  some  stock  later  on, 
though." 

Barrifield  looked  wise. 

"  That  's  what  I  suspected,"  he  admit 
ted.  "  Well,  if  he  does  us  a  good  turn 
now,  we  might  let  him  have  a  share  or  two 
later,  eh,  fellows?  " 

The  others  assented  eagerly.  They 
were  not  to  be  outdone  in  liberality. 
They  knew  nothing  of  this  new  acquisi 
tion,  but  Barrifield's  description  appealed 
to  them. 

"  We  '11  put  him  down-stairs  with  Bates," 
reflected  Perner. 

"  What  's  his  name,  Barry  ?  "  asked  Van 
Dorn. 


THE    COURSE   OF   EVENTS  105 

"  Hazard  —  Colonel  Hazard.  Officer  in 
the  Civil  War.  All  the  big  battles.  If  we 
got  pinched  before  the  returns  come  he  'd 
loan  us  money,  too." 

"That  's  good,"  said  Perner.  "We 
may  need  it." 

They  studied  the  bill  of  fare  intently. 

"  They  serve  all  portions  for  two  here, 
don't  they?"  asked  Perner,  rather  cau 
tiously,  at  last. 

A  waiter  standing  near  by  replied  in  the 
affirmative. 

"  That  soup  looks  good,"  suggested 
Van  Dorn.  "  Creme  of  tomatoes  with 
rice.  Suppose  we  try  two  portions  of 
that?" 

Livingstone  hastily  referred  to  the  price, 
which  he  was  gratified  to  find  was  un 
usually  moderate. 

"By  gad,  yes,"  he  said.  "Tomato 
soup — that  's  it!  It  's  good  and  sub 
stantial." 

"  Filling,"  agreed  Van  Dorn. 

"  And  corn-beef  hash,"  said  Perner.  "  I 
have  n't  had  any  corn-beef  hash  for  a 
dog's  age." 


106  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  Let  's  see,"  said  Livingstone  and  Van 
Dorn  together. 

There  was  another  hasty  and  surrepti 
tious  reference  to  the  price. 

"  Hash,  that  's  it!"  suddenly  exclaimed 
Barrifield,  who  had  also  been  studying  the 
various  economies  set  forth  on  the  rather 
elaborate  list.  "  Nice  brown  hash  without 
the  poached  egg  or  any  trimmings.  Just 
good,  plain,  old-fashioned  hash!  Two 
portions  of  soup  and  two  of  hash  will 
make  a  lunch  fit  for  a  king.  It  makes 
my  mouth  water  to  think  about  it.  What 
shall  we  have  to  drink?" 

"  I  find  it  interferes  with  my  work,  after 
noons,"  said  Perner.  "  Nothing  for  me." 

"  Me,  too,"  agreed  Van  Dorn.  "  I  'm 
going  to  do  without  even  coffee  in  the 
middle  of  the  day." 

"  Same  here,"  said  Livingstone. 

"  How  about  pie  ?  "  suggested  Barrifield, 
wistfully. 

Perner's  eyes,  too,  grew  hungry  at  the 
sound  of  the  word,  but  he  maintained 
silence.  A  peculiar  smile  grew  about  Van 
Dorn's  mouth. 


THE    COURSE    OF    EVENTS  107 

"  They  won't  serve  two  portions  of  pie 
for  four  of  us,  I  suppose,"  he  said. 

There  was  a  laugh  in  which  all  joined, 
and  the  flimsy  wall  of  pretense  was  swept 
away. 

"  Let  's  own  up,  boys,"  said  Barrifield, 
"  it  's  a  matter  of  economy  just  now  with 
all  of  us.  We  '11  be  lunching  at  Del's  this 
time  next  year,  but  for  a  few  months  we 
want  to  go  a  little  slow.  Let  's  have  pie, 
though,  once  more,  anyway." 


IX 

IN   THE   SANCTUM 

PERNER'S  days  were  not  without 
compensations.  There  was  corre 
spondence  with  certain  celebrities  whom 
they  had  decided  to  engage  for  the  com 
ing  year,  and  to  be  addressed  by  these 
as  "  Dear  Mr.  Perner,"  and  even  as  ((  My 
dear  Perner  "  more  than  once,  wras  worth 
the  foregoing  of  certain  luxuries  of  a 
grosser  nature. 

Then,  too,  the  news  of  the  "  Whole 
Family "  had  gone  abroad  among  the 
bohemians  of  the  town,  and  the  poet  and 
the  fictionist  unearthed  from  the  dark  cor 
ners  of  their  desks — technically  known  as 
their  "  barrels  "—the  sketches,  poems,  and 
stories  that  had  already  (and  more  than 
1 08 


IN    THE    SANCTUM  109 

once,  perhaps,  as  editors  came  and  went) 
gone  the  hopeless  round  from  Frank 
lin  Square  to  Irvington-on-the-Hudson. 
They  shook  the  dust  from  these,  cleaned 
them  carefully  with  an  eraser,  and  brought 
them  to  Perner's  door.  They  were  a 
merry  crowd,  these  bohemians,  and  most 
of  them  Perner  knew.  He  had  waited 
with  them  in  editorial  anterooms,  had 
striven  hip  to  thigh  with  them  in  the 
daily  turmoil  of  Park  Row,  and  in  more 
convivial  and  prosperous  moments  had 
touched  glasses  and  nibbled  cheese  with 
them  at  Lipton's  or  in  Perry's  back  room. 
It  was  really  rather  fine,  therefore,  to 
have  become  all  at  once  a  potentate  before 
whom,  with  due  respect,  they  now  dumped 
the  various  contents  of  their  several 
"  barrels." 

He  informed  one  arid  all  graciously 
that  contributions  would  be  promptly 
passed  upon,  and  such  as  were  selected 
promptly  paid  for,  speaking  as  one  with 
ample  means  in  reserve.  He  knew,  of 
course,  the  venerable  character  of  most  of 
these  offering?, — he  could  detect  a  reno- 


no  THE    BREAD    LINE 

vated  manuscript  across  the  room  in  poor 
light, — but  he  also  knew  that  some  of  his 
own  most  successful  work  had  become 
much  travel-worn.  He  was  willing  to  wade 
through  the  pile  of  chaff  in  the  hope  of 
discovering  a  gem,  and,  besides,  the  dig 
nity  of  an  editorial  desk  with  heaped-up 
manuscript  was  gratifying. 

Also,  the  bohemians  were  entertaining. 
They  knew  the  peculiarities  of  every  editor 
in  town,  and  exchanged  with  Perner  char 
acteristic  experiences.  Among  them  was 
a  stout,  middle-aged  man  named  Capers. 
He  was  partly  bald,  with  a  smooth  baby 
face  that  gave  him  somewhat  the  appear 
ance  of  Cupid,  and,  with  his  merry  disposi 
tion,  made  him  seem  much  younger  than 
he  really  was. 

"Well,  I  've  just  had  a  round  with 
Jacky,"  he  said,  as  he  came  in  one  morn 
ing,  puffing  somewhat  after  the  long  climb. 
(Jacky  was  the  name  by  which  a  certain 
very  prominent  and  somewhat  difficult 
magazine  editor  was  irreverently  known 
among  the  bohemians.)  "It  was  a  pretty 
stiff  tussle,  but  I  landed  him." 


IN   THE    SANCTUM  in 

Perner's  face  showed  interest.  Jacky, 
to  him,  had  been  always  a  trying'  problem. 

"  How  was  it?  "  he  asked.  "  What  did 
you  land  him  with?  " 

"  Christmas  poem — twenty-four  lines. 
Wrote  it  for  an  autumn  poem — twelve 
lines  in  the  first  place.  Too  late  for  this 
year." 

"  You  could  change  it,  of  course,  easy 
enough." 

"  Changed  it  right  there.  Put  the  golden 
apples  and  brown  nuts  in  a  pan  on  the 
table  instead  of  on  the  sear  and  yellow 
trees.  Then  I  showed  it  to  him  again,  and 
he  said  he  did  n't  care  much  for  nuts  and 
apples  anyway,  so  I  took  'em  out,  and  put 
back  the  trees,  and  hung  tinsel  and  embroi 
dered  slippers  on  them.  I  had  to  add  four 
more  lines  to  do  that,  and  spoke  of  the  holi 
days  connecting  the  years  like  a  '  joyous 
snow-clad  isthmus  '  to  rhyme  with  '  Christ 
mas.'  He  liked  that  pretty  well,  but  thought 
it  ought  to  have  a  little  more  atmosphere, 
so  I  put  in  at  the  beginning  a  stanza  with 
a  Star  in  the  East  in  it,  and  another  at  the 
end  with  Christmas  day  as  a  star  in  the 


ii2  THE   BREAD    LINE 

heart  of  humanity — sort  of  a  reflection 
like—" 

"That  was  good — tiptop!" 

"Yes;  he  took  it  then.  He  said,  if  he 
did  n't,  I  'd  keep  on  adding  to  it  and 
break  up  the  magazine.  Now,  Perny,  I  '11 
tell  you,  I  've  got  a  poem  that  runs  right 
straight  through  the  year.  Every  stanza 
is  complete  in  itself,  and  I  can  give  you  any 
kind  of  a  cut  you  want.  You  can  have  it 
all  as  it  is,  or  I  '11  take  out  the  bones  and 
trim  it  up  for  you,  or  you  can  have  slices 
out  of  it  here  and  there  at  so  much  a  slice." 

Perner  took  the  manuscript  and  ran  his 
eye  over  it  casually. 

"  That  's  a  good  thing  on  September," 
he  said.  "  The  figure  of  the  goldenrod 
like  a  plumed  warder  closing  the  gates  of 
summer  is  striking.  We  don't  publish 
till  November,  though." 

"  That  's  all  right!  What 's  the  matter 
with  making  it  chrysanthemum — a  royal 
goddess  at  the  gates  of  fall?" 

"Why,  yes;  I  suppose  that  will  do." 
Perner  handed  back  the  sheet,  and  Capers 
immediately  set  about  recasting  his 


IN   THE   SANCTUM  113 

stanzas.  Perner  had  been  too  long  in 
literature  himself  to  be  shocked  by  this 
phase  of  it.  He  was  only  amused.  Further 
more,  he  was  fond  of  Capers,  as  was  every 
editor  in  town.  They  knew  him  to  be  far 
more  conscientious  in  his  work  than  most 
of  those  who  affected  the  poetic  manner 
and  dress.  These  and  others  were  less 
entertaining.  Some  of  them  Perner  would 
rather  not  have  seen. 

There  was  the  faded,  middle-aged 
woman  whose  poor,  impossible  manu 
script  was  offered  to  him  with  hands 
made  heavy  by  toil.  There  was  the  pale, 
eager  girl  who  trembled  before  him  until 
Perner  himself  was  so  disturbed  that 
words  meant  to  be  kindly  and  encouraging 
became  only  rude  and  meaningless.  There 
was  the  handsomely  dressed  woman  of 
fashion,  who,  with  the  air  of  a  benefactor, 
laid  before  him  stories  of  bad  execution 
and  worse  morals — stones  to  which  was 
attached  neither  the  author's  signature  nor 
stamps  for  their  return.  Then  there  was 
the  sharp-featured  woman  with  spectacles, 
who  regarded  him  severely  and  proceeded 


H4  THE    BREAD    LINE 

to  read  her  poem  aloud.  Once  this  contrib 
utor  brought  a  song,  and  insisted  on  sing 
ing  it  to  him,  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  Van 
Dorn  and  Livingstone  in  the  next  room. 

There  were  men  who  tried  him,  too : 
men  who  brought  bad  pictures  and  a 
recommendation  from  their  instructors ; 
men  who  were  worn  and  threadbare, 
and  smelled  of  liquor  and  opium ;  men, 
and  women,  too,  who  offered  their  an 
cestry,  or  their  relationship  with  better- 
known  people,  as  an  argument  of  their 
ability ;  men  who  accompanied  their  con 
tributions  with  a  card  bearing  a  picture  of 
themselves  as  well  as  their  names,  and  on 
the  reverse  side  local  press  notices  compli 
mentary  to  their  talents. 

All  of  these,  however,  were  the  excep 
tions.  For  the  most  part,  the  bohemians 
were  sensible,  cheerful  people  who  had 
adopted  the  uncertain  paths  of  art,  and 
were  following  them,  in  storm  and  sun, 
bravely  and  perseveringly,  to  the  end. 
They  were  nearly  always  light-hearted — 
on  the  surface,  at  least, — and  bore  away 
their  unaccepted  offerings  or  left  others 


IX   THE    SANCTUM  115 

with  equally  good  nature.  Now  and  then 
a  new  aspirant  came,  in  whose  wrork  Perner 
recognized  the  elements  of  success.  To 
ward  these  his  heart  warmed,  and  out  of 
his  well  of  experience  he  gave  to  them  an 
abundance  of  encouragement  and  priceless 
counsel.  Indeed,  this  was  a  keen  enjoy 
ment  to  him.  Mis  own  struggle,  begun 
somewhat  late  in  life,  had  not  been  alto 
gether  an  easy  one,  and  there  was  delight 
in  renewing  each  step  of  his  success.  There 
was  regret,  too — regret  that  the  old  days 
of  freedom,  and  nights  without  responsi 
bility,  were  over.  Still,  it  was  something 
to  be  the  editor  of  a  great  paper,  and  then, 
by  and  by,  there  would  be  for  him — for 
all  of  them — the  comforts  of  wealth,  and 
with  it  time  in  which  to  do  only  such  work 
as  gave  them  most  pleasure.  The  strain 
was  rather  hard  now,  sometimes,  and 
might  become  even  harder  before  the 
final  triumph.  But  the  end  of  their  rain 
bow  was  drawing  each  day  nearer,  and  in 
the  summer  dusk,  under  their  open  sky 
light,  the  friends  still  drowsed  and  talked 
far  into  the  night  of  pots  of  gold. 


X 


A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  MISS  DORO 
THY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

MY  OWN  DEAR  DORRY:  When  I 
wrote  to  you  last  we  had  just  ar 
ranged  to  have  Bates  come  and  Colonel 
Hazard.  Well,  they  are  both  here  now, 
and  it  is  a  perfect  circus.  Bates  came  a 
few  days  before  the  Colonel.  Then  when 
the  Colonel  did  come  Bates  regarded  him 
in  some  way  as  a  rival,  and  because  he 
is  n't  dressed  very  well  tried  to  intimidate 
him.  Bates  is  like  all  solicitors, — at  least, 
all  that  we  have  seen, — full  of  talk  and 
rather  overpowering  in  his  manner;  but 
the  Colonel  is  a  white-haired  old  army 
officer,  and  can  put  on  some  dignity,  and 
talk  some,  himself.  Perny  had  to  go  down 
116 


A   LETTER   FROM    TRUE  117 

and  straighten  them  out,  and  now  they  've 
got  the  door  locked  between  them.  They 
are  all  right,  though,  both  of  them,  I  sup 
pose,  in  their  way.  I  don't  care  for  Bates 
—  I  don't  like  his  way,  though  Perny  and 
Barry  say  that  some  of  the  smartest  men 
they  ever  knew  were  like  him.  But  the 
Colonel  is  an  old  brick.  He  's  traveled 
all  over  the  world  and  been  in  about  all 
the  battles  that  ever  were  fought.  He  's 
been  in  a  lot  of  different  kinds  of  business, 
too,  and  has  made  a  great  many  people 
rich.  I  don't  think  he  's  very  rich  now 
himself — at  least,  he  does  n't  look  like  it, 
though,  of  course,  you  can't  always  tell. 
I  know  he  's  expecting  money  in  a  few 
days,  for  I  lent  him  a  dollar  this  morning 
until  it  comes.  I  'm  going  to  get  him  to 
pose  for  me,  if  he  will,  for  he  's  a  perfect 
type  for  the  bread-line  picture  if  he  only 
won't  get  any  new  clothes.  I  'm  almost 
afraid  to  ask  him,  though  he  's  so  good- 
natured  I  know  he  can't  refuse.  He  's  a 
boon  to  Perny,  for  he  talks  to  all  the 
people  with  circulation  schemes  and  keeps 
them  down-stairs,  so  Van  and  I  can  get 


n8  THE    BREAD    LINE 

out  the  rest  of  the  pictures  for  the  first 
issue  and  begin  some  for  the  second. 
Bates  takes  care  of  the  advertising  solici 
tors,  too,  which  is  a  help,  though  he  wor 
ries  Perny  a  good  deal  trying  to  find  out 
how  much  money  we  've  got.  He  made 
up  to  the  Colonel  yesterday  and  ques 
tioned  him  on  the  subject.  The  Colonel 
told  him  we  had  millions  back  of  us.  Of 
course,  we  've  never  told  the  Colonel 
about  Frisby,  and  he  does  n't  know  any 
more  than  Bates,  or  just  how  far  back  of 
us  the  millions  are  any  more  than  we  do, 
but  was  n't  it  a  jolly  answer?  The  Colo 
nel  is  always  amusing,  while  Bates  never 
is.  Bates  wants  a  lot  of  things,  too,  and 
we  Ve  got  new  tables  and  letter-presses 
and  chairs  that  all  cost  a  good  deal  more 
than  you  'd  think  for.  You  've  no  idea 
how  things  count  up,  and  now,  with  Bates's 
salary  and  the  stenographer's  and  double 
rent,  it  really  almost  scares  me  sometimes. 
Still,  Frisby  did  it  without  money,  though, 
of  course,  he  had  some  things  that  we 
have  to  buy,  and  then  he  got  credit,  too. 
We  '11  either  have  to  do  that  soon  or 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  119 

make  another  assessment,  for  there  is 
something  new  that  we  have  to  buy  every 
day. 

"  You  should  see  our  new  mail-box. 
The  Colonel  bought  it  —  that  is,  he  had 
it  made  to  order,  because  there  were  no 
ready-made  boxes  in  the  city,  he  said,  big 
enough  to  hold  our  mail  when  our  adver 
tisements  come  out,  and  I  suppose  that  is 
so.  But  it  really  is  very  large,  and  it  has 
an  opening  in  it  big  enough  to  take  in 
almost  any  size  package.  We  put  it  down 
stairs  by  the  door,  and  people  come  all  the 
way  up  the  outside  steps  just  to  look  at  it. 
I  don't  know  what  they  think  it  is — per 
haps  a  receiver  of  old  clothes  and  things 
for  charity ;  at  least,  some  must  have 
thought  so,  for  there  was  a  pair  of  little 
worn  baby-shoes  in  it  the  other  day,  and 
yesterday  a  hat.  You  see,  it  says  '  The 
\Yhole  Family  '  on  it  in  big  black  letters, 
and  I  suppose  people  think  it  means  con 
tributions  for  all  ages.  I  took  the  baby- 
shoes  to  use  as  models,  and  the  Colonel 
is  wearing  the  hat.  It  is  pretty  good  and 
better  than  the  one  he  had.  Van  says  if 


120  THE   BREAD   LINE 

the  paper  fails  we  '11  have  to  depend  on 
our  mail-box  for  support. 

"  Of  course,  that  was  in  fun,  for  the 
paper  can't  fail  now.  Bates  says  he  's 
already  got  contracts  enough  made  and 
promised  to  fill  up  nearly  all  the  space  in 
the  first  issue.  He  says  we  must  advertise 
more  ourselves  than  we  calculated  on,  as 
that  helps  us  to  get  ads  in  exchange,  and 
I  suppose  that  is  true;  and  then,  as  soon 
as  our  advertising  is  out,  we  '11  have  money 
coming  in  right  away  to  pay  for  it.  That 
is  what  they  call  'cash  terms.'  I  am 
learning  a  good  deal  about  business,  and 
even  Perny,  who,  as  you  know,  was  in 
business  once  for  ten  years,  is  learning 
some  things,  too.  You  see,  the  publishing 
business  is  different.  I  never  realized  it 
so  much  before. 

"  We  have  lots  of  advice.  People  come 
in  every  day  to  tell  us  how  to  run  the 
paper,  and  yesterday  a  little  boy  about 
ten  years  old  walked  in  and  said  to  Perny  : 

"  '  I  '11  tell  you  what  you  want  in  that 
paper:  you  want  a  chapter  every  week 
that  tells  boys  how  to  make  things.' 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  121 

"Was  n't  it  jolly?  Perny  is  going  to 
have  it,  too.  Then,  he  's  going  to  have 
another  one  like  it  for  girls,  and  corre 
spondence,  and  cooking  receipts,  and  agri 
culture,  and  puzzles,  and  games,  and 
sciences,  and  school  features,  besides  all 
the  stories  and  articles.  I  tell  you,  we  've 
got  our  hands  full — at  least,  Perny  has, 
and,  of  course,  we  help  him  plan  and  talk 
about  it. 

"  The  Colonel  helps,  too,  and  he  is  a 
good  hand.  Then,  when  we  are  tired,  he 
tells  us  his  adventures.  He  's  a  great 
traveler  and  has  written  articles  and 
stories.  He  knows  Egypt  and  the  Holy 
Land  like  a  book.  Bates  also  comes  up 
and  talks  evenings,  when  we  want  to  be 
alone.  I  suppose  we  ought  to  listen  to 
him,  for  he  talks  business,  but  he  is  an 
awful  bore,  and  we  don't  care  much  who 
his  contracts  are  with,  if  he  's  just  got 
them.  I  'd  put  a  good  deal  more  faith  in 
Bates  if  he  had  different  ways,  but,  of 
course,  everything  can't  be  pleasant.  Van 
tried  to  seem  interested,  the  other  night, 
and  asked  Bates  to  let  him  see  his  contracts. 


122  THE    BREAD    LINE 

Then  he  became  quite  offended.  He 
seemed  to  think  we  doubted  his  having 
them.  We  don't  want  to  get  him  mad,  for 
the  advertising  is  where  our  profit  comes 
in,  and  I  suppose  Bates  is  a  great  hustler, 
only  I  wish  he  'd  hustle  and  be  satisfied 
without  telling  us  over  and  over  about 
Lawson's  Baby  Powder,  and  the  Slick 
Shaving  Stick,  or  the  H.  M.  Rolled  Oats, 
double  column  agate  every  other  week, 
and  a  lot  more  things,  till  we  're  stone- 
blind  and  black  in  the  face. 

"  And  now,  Dorry  dear,  I  tried  to  write 
you  all  the  news,  as  you  wanted  me  to,  and 
I  have  n't  told  you  once  in  all  these  pages 
that  I  love  you.  I  do,  though,  Dorry, 
and  it  breaks  my  heart  that  I  am  not 
going  to  see  you  this  summer.  Of  course, 
as  you  say,  I  ought  not  to  leave  now  until 
the  paper  is  out,  and  must  be  economical ; 
but  it  is  very  hard,  and  if  you  were  not  so 
taken  up  now  with  the  paper  yourself,  I 
should  be  tempted  to  drop  everything  and 
come  away.  There  are  drawbacks,  after 
all,  in  having  a  great  responsibility  like 
this,  but,  of  course,  when  it  gets  to  going 


A    LKTTKR    FROM    TRUE  123 

I  suppose  we  '11  have  leisure,  and  next 
summer  we  '11  have  a  steam-yacht  of  our 
own  and  go  around  the  world  together. 
Then  we  '11  come  back  and  begin  building 
the  houses  and  all  the  different  institutions 
you  have  planned.  You  are  very  noble, 
sweetheart,  to  be  always  thinking  of  others. 
It  will  be  beautiful  to  be  rich  for  that  rea 
son,  if  for  nothing  else.  For  my  part,  any 
condition  of  life  would  be  happiness  with 
you  at  my  side.  God  bless  you,  Dorothy! 
"Your 

"  TRUE. 

"P.S.  The  Colonel  was  just  in,  and  I 
made  this  sketch  of  him.  He  's  going  to 
pose  for  me,  too,  in  the  bread  line.  He 
looked  a  little  queer  when  I  asked  him, 
but  he  laughed  the  next  instant  and  said 
he  would.  Is  n't  he  fine? 

"  TRUE. 

"P. P.S. — Bates  was  in,  too.  He  was 
flourishing  a  paper  triumphantly  and  say 
ing,  '  You  fellows  don't  think  I  have  any 
contracts,  do  you  ?  '  He  said  that  two  or 
three  times,  and  then  sat  down  and  told 


I24  THE    BREAD    LINE 

us  all  over  a  lot  of  stuff  we  've  heard  be 
fore — at  least,  it  sounded  like  it.  When 
he  went  out  he  accidentally  dropped  the 
paper  on  the  floor.  Perny  picked  it  up 
and  looked  at  it.  It  was  a  contract  for  a 
two-line  cosmetic  ad  in  two  issues  for  two 
dollars!  Perny  figured  up  and  found  that 
it  made  our  space  worth  less  than  five 
hundred  dollars  a  page,  or  about  seven 
thousand  dollars  a  year  in  all,  when  we 
had  been  figuring  on  a  million  or  so. 
Perny  is  going  to  investigate  to-morrow. 

"T." 


XI 

THE  GENTLE  ART  OF  ADVERTISING 

TO  the  proprietors  of  the  "  Whole 
Family "  the  discovery  that  Mr. 
Bates  was  over-fond  of  strong  liquors  was 
not  altogether  in  the  nature  of  a  surprise. 
Indeed,  this  weakness  was  rather  condoned 
at  first  as  being  one  believed  to  be  com 
mon  to  some  of  the  brightest  minds. 
Barrineld,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  put 
it  in  this  way  about  the  time  of  Bates's 
engagement,  and  in  his  opinion  had  been 
ably  seconded  by  Perner,  against  whose 
judgment  neither  Van  Dorn  nor  Living 
stone  had,  at  this  period,  dared  to  oppose 
themselves.  It  will  be  seen  from  his  letters 
to  Miss  Castle  of  Cleveland,  however,  that 
Livingstone's  faith  in  the  bibulous  solicitor 
12; 


126  THE   BREAD    LINE 

of  advertising  was  by  no  means  complete ; 
also  that  Mr.  Bates  had  become  to  all  of 
them  the  unmitigated  bore  which  the  man 
of  his  temperament  and  habit  is  more  than 
likely  to  become  toward  evening  after  a 
day  of  persistent  enterprise. 

Could  they  have  seen  the  following 
letter,  prepared  and  forwarded  by  Mr. 
Bates  during  one  of  his  more  lucid  inter 
vals,  the  faith  of  all  might  have  crumbled 
somewhat  sooner  than  it  did : 

OFFICE    OF    THE   "WHOLE    FAMILY" 

A   WEEKLY    PAPER  ,FOR   YOUNG   AND    OLD 

NEW  YORK,  August  10,  1897. 
To  Richard  Cleaver,  c\o  Jackson  &  Marsh  Adv. 
Agency,  New  York. 

FRIEND  DICK  :  I  have  gone  into  this  business 
as  deep  as  possible,  and  as  near  as  I  can  find  out 
these  fellows  have  got  some  money.  I  don't  know 
how  much  yet,  but  at  least  they  pay  salaries  reg 
ular  and  any  bills  that  come. 

There  is  a  broken-down  old  stuff  here  by  the 
name  of  Hazard.  He  calls  himself  Colonel,  and 
has  been  mixed  up  in  all  kinds  of  wild-cat  enter 
prises  for  the  past  forty  years.  He  knows  some 
thing  about  running  a  paper  of  the  vintage  of  '68 
and  they  think  he  's  a  great  man.  He  says  they  're 


THE    GENTLE    ART   OF    ADVERTISING    127 

backed  by  millions,  but  probably  knows  no  more 
about  it  than  I  do.  Whatever  they  Ye  got,  they  are 
"lambs,"  and  one  of  them,  Livingstone,  is  a  regular 
infant  in  arms.  They  're  going  to  lose  their  "bun 
dle,"  of  course,  whatever  it  is,  and  we  want  to  get 
as  much  of  it  as  we  can  and  as  quick  as  possible. 
Here  's  what  you  want  to  do. 

Go  right  to  the  "Family  Friend"  people  and 
tell  them  that  the  "Whole  Family"  is  placing  a 
big  lot  of  advertising  and  will  cut  into  them  in 
great  shape.  The  "Friend  "  will  give  you  a  lot  of 
advertising  to  place  for  them,  for  they  are  always 
"leery  "  of  competition.  I  have  already  told  these 
chumps  that  they  will  have  to  do  a  lot  more  ad 
vertising  than  they  counted  on  in  order  to  get  ads 
themselves.  They  are  going  to  let  me  pick  the 
places,  and  you  can  stand  to  win  on  my  picking 
places  where  the  commission  will  be  worth  some 
thing.  You  can't  do  that  so  well  with  the  "Friend  " 
people,  of  course,— they  '11  pick  for  themselves,— 
but  whatever  we  get  from  that  end  will  be  just  so 
much  to  the  good,  and  we  '11  divide  profits  in  the 
middle. 

Now  about  the  money  here.  Tell  Jackson  to 
present  his  bill  before  he  turns  their  copy  in. 
They  will  have  to  pay  then  if  they  have  got  any 
money,  and  if  they  have  n't  we  '11  find  it  out. 
They  can't  kick,  for  they  Ye  talked  cash  all  the 
time,  though  they  seem  to  think  that  means  when 
the  advertising  is  out,  and  I  '11  let  them  keep  on 
thinking  so  awhile  longer. 


128  THE   BREAD    LINE 

Now,  Dick,  we  ought  to  get  a  pretty  good  thing 
out  of  this  by  making  it  cut  both  ways,  and  I  want 
you  to  attend  to  your  end  all  O.  K.  You  hustle 
the  "Friend"  folks  and  I  '11  "round  up"  these 
duffers.  Then  I  '11  come  down  in  a  day  or  two, 
and  we  '11  go  out  where  we  can  have  a  quiet  drink 
and  talk  it  over.  Your  commissions  ought  to  swell 
up  pretty  well  this  month  if  we  work  this  through 
properly,  and  mine  ought  to  help  out  my  salary 
here,  which  I  shall  go  on  pulling  as  long  as  their 
"dough  "  holds  out  to  burn.  Oh,  but  these  fellows 
are  a  lot  of  jays  !  They  instructed  me  when  I 
came  to  take  ads  on  the  basis  of  a  million  circula 
tion  at  least,  and  to  charge  ten  dollars  a  line  for 
space.  How  's  that  ?  I  'm  doing  it,  of  course  ! 

Yours, 

JOE. 

About  the  time,  possibly,  that  Mr.  Bates 
was  preparing-  this  letter,  the  proprietors  of 
the  "  Whole  Family  "  were  gathered  about 
a  table  under  the  studio  skylight  in  earnest 
discussion.  In  the  center  of  the  table  lay 
a  large  and  loud-voiced  watch,  a  small, 
inoffensive-looking  camera,  a  savage-look 
ing  gun,  and  a  rather  showy  Bible.  After 
much  argument  they  had  finally  agreed 
upon  these  articles  as  their  premiums,  as 
well  as  upon  the  necessity  of  following  up 


THE    GENTLE   ART   OF    ADVERTISING   129 

their  "  cash  for  names "  announcement 
with  premium  offers  both  in  their  own 
and  other  periodicals.  They  were  gathered 
now  to  prepare  the  copy  for  this  advertis 
ing.  Perner  was  performing  the  mechani 
cal  labor,  while  the  others  assisted  him  with 
appropriate  adjectives  and  sentences. 

"  I  don't  think  '  excellent '  is  a  strong 
enough  word  for  the  watch,"  objected 
Van  Dorn,  picking  up  the  noisy  little  tin 
box  and  regarding  it  rather  sternly,  per 
haps  because  it  did  not  suggest  something 
more  gratifying  to  the  ear. 

Perner  scowled  and  scratched  his  head. 

"  I  don't  think  so  myself,"  he  admitted, 
"  but  I  've  used  up  everything  else  on  the 
paper.  I  've  said  '  splendid,'  '  magnificent/ 
'  grand,'  '  glorious,'  and  all  those.  There 
is  n't  anything  left  that  I  can  think  of. 
Get  my  Thesaurus,  Stony,  off  the  desk 
in  the  next  room,  and  turn  to  '  beauty.' 
That  '11  give  us  a  starting-point." 

Livingstone  obeyed,  and  was  presently 
running  his  finger  down  the  page. 

"  '  Gorgeous  '  would  n't  quite  do,  would 
it?"  he  asked  doubtfully. 


130  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  N-no,  hardly.  Look  along  a  little 
farther.  What  comes  after  that  ?" 

"Then — let  's  see — there  's  'good-look 
ing,'  'well-made,'  'proper,'  'shapely,'  and 
'  symmetrical.'  I  don't  think  much  of  any 
of  those,  do  you  ?  " 

"Well,  no,"  reflected  Van  Dorn  ; 
"  however  true  they  might  be  of  the 
proprietors,  \ve  'd  hardly  want  to  say 
that  our  watch  was  '  good-looking '  and 
'  proper.' ' 

"  How  about  '  dazzling,'  '  showy,'  '  ma 
jestic,'  '  sumptuous  '  ?  " 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  Stony,  give  me  the 
book!  "  said  Perner,  impatiently.  "  Here, 
Barry,  you  look.  These  artists  don't  know 
any  more  about  a  dictionary  than  we  do 
about  a  paint-shop." 

Barrifield  took  the  book  and  examined 
it  a  moment  in  silence. 

"  How  would  '  elegant '  do,  and  '  su 
perb  ' ? "  he  asked. 

"  Good,  but  we  've  used  them  already 
on  the  paper." 

"  '  Delicate,'  '  dainty/  '  refined  '  — " 

Livingstone   looked    down    at  the    fat- 


THE    GENTLE   ART   OF   ADVERTISING    131 

bellied,  moon-faced  timepiece  and  laughed. 
Van  Dorn  took  it  more  seriously. 

"Too  tappy,"  he  said.  "We  want  to 
land  on  the  solar  plexus  every  time.  Why 
not  call  it  '  world-beating/  or— 

"Now  you  're  talking  sense!"  inter 
rupted  Barrifield.  "  That  's  better  than  a 
dictionary.  'The  great,  world-beating 
"Whole  Family"  watch!  Stem-wind 
ing  and  -setting!  Full-jeweled!  Dia 
mond  balance!  Eighteen  — ' 

"  Hold  on,  Barry;  I  can't  get  it  down." 

Perner  was  scribbling  rapidly.  "  And 
what  does  '  diamond  balance  '  mean?  " 

"  Never  mind  what  it  means.  It  sounds 
rich,  and  that  's  what  we  want." 

"  Don't  you  think  we  ought  to  have  in 
something  about  the  escapement?"  asked 
Livingstone.  "All  watches  have  escape 
ments,  don't  they  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,"  nodded  Van  Dorn, — "  cyl 
inder  escapement — duplex  action— 

Perner  interrupted  : 

"  Oh,  nonsense,  Van  !  It  's  the  camera 
that  has  duplex  action." 

"  T  is  n't,  either— it  's  the  watch!" 


I32  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  Oh,  well,  let  's  give  it  to  the  cam 
era,  anyway,"  compromised  Barrifield. 
"  We  've  got  enough  for  the  watch.  How 
does  it  read  now,  Perny?" 

Perner  added  a  few  more  lines  to  what 
he  had  already  written,  then,  leaning 
back  in  his  chair,  read  slowly  and  with 
emphasis : 

"OUR  MAGNIFICENT  PREMIUM  OFFERS 
"In  addition  to  giving  you  our  superb  paper  at 
the  unheard-of  price  of  ONE  DOLLAR  A  YEAR  FOR 
FIFTY-TWO  ISSUES,  we  make  to  the  entire  world 
the  following  supreme  premium  offers : 

"  I  think,"  Perner  paused  to  comment, 
"  that  that  goes  a  few  degrees  better  than 
Frisby.  Here  's  what  he  says." 

He  picked  up  a  copy  of  a  paper  that 
gave  evidence  of  having  had  much  careful 
reading  and  even  commentary  study. 

"  Never  mind  Frisby,"  objected  Van 
Dorn.  "  We  know  that  by  heart.  Let  's 
hear  what  you  say." 

"All  right,"  cheerfully  assented  Perner. 

"OFFER  NO.  i 

"Our  splendid  paper,  'The  Whole  Family/  for 
one  year,  fifty-two  issues,  and  our  great  world- 


THE    GENTLE    ART   OF   ADVERTISING   133 

beating,  stem-winding  and  -setting,  cylinder-es 
capement,  diamond-balance,  crown-jeweled  watch  ! 
Worth,  both  together,  five  dollars  in  gold  !  Given 
by  us,  until  present  limited  quantity  is  exhausted, 
for  the  mere  ridiculous  bagatelle  of 
ONE  DOLLAR! 

and  twenty-five  cents  to  pay  for  postage  and  packing." 

Perner  paused  and  caught  his  breath. 
Then  he  added : 

"The  last  line,  of  course,  will  be  in 
small  type,  so  it  won't  seem  to  count. 
It 's  the  dollar  that  will  catch  them.  And 
what  do  you  think  of  'crown-jeweled'? 
Was  n't  that  an  inspiration?  You  see, 
1  full-jeweled '  means  a  certain  number, 
and  we  don't  want  to  deceive  anybody, 
while  '  crown-jeweled  '  means  just  jewels, 
because  any  kind  of  jewels  are  suitable  for 
a  crown." 

Perner  regarded  them  triumphantly. 
Barrifield  and  Livingstone  murmured 
assent. 

"  Yes,  that  was  a  great  stroke,"  agreed 
Van  Dorn ;  "  but  I  object  to  the  '  mere 
ridiculous  bagatelle.'  ' 

Perner  looked  injured.  It  was  evident 
that  he  valued  this  form. 


134  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  You  see,  they  '11  think  it  means  an 
other  premium  —  something  they  don't 
get,"  Van  Dorn  continued. 

"  Yes ;  sounds  like  a  game  I  used  to 
have,"  suggested  Livingstone. 

Barrifield  nodded  dreamily,  while  Perner 
scratched  out  the  offending  words. 

"  You  fellows  are  such  good  hands  to 
find  fault  with  what  I  do,"  he  complained, 
"  why  don't  you  do  something  your 
selves  ?  " 

(i  Give  me  the  pencil  and  paper,  then," 
commanded  Van  Dorn.  Perner  surren 
dered  the  articles  with  dignity,  and  for 
some  moments  the  artist  wrote  busily. 

"  Now,"  he  exclaimed  at  last,  "  how  does 
this  sound? 

"OFFER  NO.  2 

"  Paper,  same  as  you  had,  Perny,  and 
"our  marvelous  cracker-jack,  kodak,  double-rack, 
swing-back  camera— 

"Bully!"  shouted  Livingstone,  "that  's 
a  regular  college  yell!" 

"Of  course — that  's  what  we  want!" 
Van  Dorn  acknowledged  eagerly.  "  That 
'11  make  every  college  boy  want  one!" 


THE    GENTLE    ART    OF    ADVERTISING    135 

Perner  assented,  but  he  did  not  look 
altogether  happy.  Perhaps  he  felt  that 
he  had  been  defeated  by  a  maker  of  pic 
tures  in  what  was  properly  a  literary  under 
taking. 

"  Now  let  Barry  and  Stony  do  the  gun 
and  the  Bible,"  he  said  wearily.  "  I  'm 
tired." 

The  door  opened  just  then,  and  Colonel 
Hazard  entered.  In  spite  of  his  disrepu 
table  clothing,  he  possessed  considerable 
dignity  and  a  manner  calculated  to  inspire 
in  those  about  him  something  akin  to  con 
fidence.  It  was,  perhaps,  this  very  quality 
that  had  been  from  time  to  time  the 
downfall  of  himself  and  others.  The 
stream  of  Pactolus  had  flowed  often  at 
his  touch,  though  only  to  waste  its  golden 
waters  in  treacherous  sands  and  unseen 
pitfalls.  Nevertheless,  he  had  retained 
what  was  even  more  precious — hope  and 
unfailing  good  nature.  It  is  true  Bates 
had  provoked  him  to  wrath,  but  then, 
Bates's  manner  had  been  exceptional. 

"  You  're  just  the  man  we  want  to  see, 
Colonel,"  called  Van  Dorn,  as  he  entered. 


136  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  We  're  getting  up  our  ads.  Come  and 
help  us." 

The  Colonel  was  always  willing  and 
courteous.  He  cleared  his  throat  and 
came  forward  smiling. 

"  Certainly,  gentlemen.  I  think  I  may 
really  be  able  to  assist  you  somewhat. 
When  I  was  business  manager  of  the 
'  Family  Post '  in  its  palmy  days  I  always 
arranged  my  own  advertising  copy.  I 
remember  once  of  running  the  circulation 
up  something  like  two  hundred  thousand 
on  a  single  feature  I  introduced.  Also, 
when  I  was  editor-in-chief  of  the  '  Satur 
day  Globe '  they  often  came  to  me  for 
such  things.  It  is  quite  an  art,  I  assure 
you.  May  I  be  allowed  to  consider  what 
you  have  already  done?" 

The  work,  so  far  as  completed,  was  ex 
hibited  and  read  aloud  for  his  delectation. 

"  Very  good,  gentlemen,  very  good  in 
deed,"  he  assented,  when  they  had  fin 
ished.  "  You  have  also  made  careful 
selection,  no  doubt,  of  the  periodicals  in 
which  these  advertisements  are  to  appear. 
A  great  deal  depends  on  the  choice  of 


THE    GENTLE    ART   OF   ADVERTISING   137 

proper  mediums.  For  instance,  you  would 
not  wish  to  offer  the  gun  in  a  ladies' 
journal,  nor,  from  a  business  standpoint, 
the  Bible  in  a  sportsmen's  magazine,  how 
ever  commendable  such  a  course  might 
appear  from  a  moral  point  of  view.  You 
see,  gentlemen,  I  speak  from  long  and 
dearly  bought  experience,  and  these 
matters  are  worth  considering." 

"  But  Bates  attends  to  all  that,"  said 
Perner.  "  lie  knows  the  best  places  to 
advertise  better  than  we  do,  and  can 
get  better  prices.  Would  n't  you  think 
so?" 

The  face  of  the  Colonel  grew  almost 
stern. 

"  I  do  not  wish,  gentlemen,  to  interfere 
in  any  of  your  plans,"  he  said  with  some 
dignity,  "  and  you  must  excuse  me  if  I  do 
not  coincide  with  your  opinions  concern 
ing  my  colleague,  Mr.  Joseph  Bates.  He 
impresses  me  as  merely  a  boasting,  un 
scrupulous  fellow  when  he  is  sober,  and  a 
maudlin  Ananias  when  he  's  intoxicated. 
In  neither  condition  do  I  consider  him 
trustworthy." 


138  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"By  gad!  nor  I,  either!"  declared 
Livingstone. 

"  Oh,  come,  now,"  protested  Barrifield, 
laughing  lazily.  "  You  fellows  are  down 
on  Bates  because  he  drinks.  Why,  some 
of  the  smartest  men  we  ever  had  in  this 
country  were  the  hardest  drinkers." 

"  Rather  in  spite  of  it  than  because  of 
it,  however,  I  fancy,"  smiled  the  Colonel. 
"  If  I  were  employing  men  I  should  hardly 
regard  inebriety  as  an  evidence  of  either 
superior  intelligence  or  moral  integrity. 
Personally,  I  have  no  respect  for  my  col 
league,— no  respect  whatever,— though,  as 
long  as  he  remains  such,  I  shall  treat  him 
with  the  courtesy  due  to  his  position." 

There  was  something  about  the  Colo 
nel's  manner  that  commanded  sufficient 
respect  for  himself  to  prevent  the  laughter 
which  his  appearance  and  remarks  might 
otherwise  have  encouraged.  With  his 
assistance  the  proprietors  of  the  "  Whole 
Family  "  proceeded  with  the  descriptions 
of  the  gun  and  the  Bible.  They  had  fin 
ished  and  Colonel  Hazard  had  arisen  to 
go  when  Bates  himself  entered.  He  was 


THE    GENTLE   ART   OF   ADVERTISING   139 

unsteady  on  his  feet,  and  paused  for  a 
moment  to  regard  the  Colonel  with 
drunken  scorn.  Then  he  made  a  motion 
toward  a  chair,  lurched  heavily,  barely 
saved  himself  by  grasping  the  table,  and 
stood  swaying  like  an  inverted  pendulum. 
The  Colonel  hesitated  for  an  instant,  then 
with  a  deft  motion  he  pushed  a  chair 
behind  the  oscillating  figure. 

"  Allow  me,  Mr.  Bates.  Good  evening, 
gentlemen."  And  with  a  stately  bow  he 
passed  out  just  as  the  helpless  Bates  sank 
into  the  chair  thus  thoughtfully  provided 
by  his  enemy,  and  was  saved.  Once  in 
the  chair,  he  partially  recovered  and  found 
speech. 

"No  r'spect  f'r  that  chap!"  he  said 
thickly,  shaking  his  head,  "  no  r'spect 
wh'tever.  He  's  'n  old  stuff — 'at  's  w'at 
he  is — no  r'spect  wh'tever." 

"  Oh,  come,  Bates,  brace  up!  If  it  had 
n't  been  for  the  Colonel  you  'd  have  been 
on  the  floor!  Brace  up,  now;  we  want  to 
talk  business!" 

Perner  spoke  sharply,  and  it  had  the 
effect  of  bringing  the  solicitor  partly  to 


140  THE   BREAD   LINE 

his  senses.  The  proprietors  of  the  "  Whole 
Family  "  had  been  indulgent  heretofore — 
even  submissive ;  he  could  not  afford  to 
disturb  these  conditions — not  yet.  Bar- 
rifield  and  Van  Dorn  also  regarded  him 
severely.  Livingstone,  disgusted,  walked 
over  to  the  window  and  looked  down  on 
the  street. 

"  We  have  been  getting  up  our  ads," 
continued  Perner,  "  and  we  want  them 
placed  right  away.  We  Ve  left  the  selec- 
ti9n  of  the  places  to  you,  but  if  you  're 
going  to  attend  to  it  you  Ve  got  to  brace 
up  and  answer  some  questions.  What  we 
want  to  know  is  whether  this  advertising 
is  going  to  pay  us — pay  right  away,  I 
mean — so  enough  returns  will  come  in  to 
cover  the  investment  as  soon  as  it  's 
out." 

The  effect  of  this  on  Bates  was  certainly 
remarkable.  By  the  time  Perner  had  fin 
ished  speaking,  except  for  a  slightly  heavy 
look  in  his  eyes  and  a  trifling  uncertainty 
as  to  consonants,  you  could  hardly  have 
told  he  had  been  drinking. 

"  Gen'lemen,"  he  said  with   great  con- 


TIIK    GENTLE    ART   OF    ADVERTISING   141 

viction,  "  there  is  no  question  about  it. 
I  've  been  in  the  adve'tising  business  ten 
years,  an'  I  know  what  I  'm  talkin'  about. 
You  've  got  a  beautiful  paper,  gen'le- 
mcn,  beautiful.  I  sat  up  t'll  one  o'clock 
las'  night  reading  it.  All  it  wan's  is  ad 
ve'tising.  No  question  about  it,  gen'le- 
men." 

Barrifield  looked  across  triumphantly  at 
Van  Dorn.  Bates  was  all  right  when  it 
came  to  business.  They  read  him  the 
advertisements,  of  which  he  approved 
heartily.  Later,  he  began  telling  them 
of  some  vast  sum  appropriated  by  an 
artificial  food  company  for  advertising 
purposes  and  of  which  he  would  secure 
for  them  a  handsome  slice. 

Perner  listened  a  moment ;  then  he  drew 
a  paper  from  his  pocket. 

"  Oh,  by  the  way,  Bates,"  he  asked, 
"what  does  this  mean?  This  .contract 
you  left  here  last  night  reads,  '  Two  lines, 
two  insertions,  for  two  dollars.'  What 
does  that  mean?  " 

Bates  stared  a  moment;  then  he  took 
the  paper  and  pretended  to  examine  it 


142  THE    BREAD    LINE 

very  carefully.  A  moment  later  he 
chuckled. 

"Why,  yes,"  he  owned,  "that  's  so.  I 
never  noticed  that  b'fore.  S'pose  I  got 
to  writin'  twos  an'  could  n't  stop.  Should 
have  been  '  forty '  in  the  blank  b'fore 
'dollars.'  Have  it  fixed  t'-morrow." 

He  pocketed  the  contract  and  rose  to 
go.  Barrifield  and  Perner  again  looked 
across  at  each  other  with  satisfaction. 
Bates  took  a  step  toward  the  door.  Then 
it  was  observed  that  his  self-control  had 
been  but  temporary,  or  perhaps  had  not 
extended  to  his  legs.  He  staggered, 
reached  for  the  knob,  missed,  and 
plunged  helplessly  into  the  corner  in  a 
heap.  They  helped  him  up,  brushed  him, 
and  steadied  him  down-stairs.  As  they 
came  back  to  the  studio  Van  Dorn  re 
marked  disgustedly : 

"  Well,  smart  men  that  drink,  or  no 
smart  men,  I  would  n't  hire  another  man 
like  that." 

"  But  was  n't  it  wonderful  how  he  braced 
up  when  it  came  to  talking  business?" 
insisted  Barrifield. 


THE    GENTLE   ART   OF   ADVERTISING    143 

"  Yes ;  he  's  all  right  on  business,"  agreed 
Perner;  "  but  I  am  with  Van  on  the  drink 
question." 

"  I  'm  with  the  Colonel,"  said  Living 
stone. 


XII 

A  LETTER  FROM  MISS  DOROTHY  CASTLE 
OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR.  TRUMAN  LIV 
INGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK 

MY  DEAR  TRUE  :  Your  last  letter, 
and  package  containing  (  dummy  ' 
of  the  first  issue  of  the  '  Whole  Family/ 
so  far  as  complete,  came  last  night.  I 
have  read  every  word  in  it — the  '  Whole 
Family,'  I  mean  (and  your  letter,  too,  of 
course) — over  and  over.  I  think  it  splen 
did  (both  splendid).  The  stories  and 
drawings  are  all  of  the  very  highest  order, 
if  I  am  any  judge,  and  the  '  make-up '  and 
all  beautiful.  (I  am  talking  of  the  paper 
this  time.)  There  is  a  little  typographical 
error  on  the  fourth  page, — in  the  second 
column,  just  below  the  first  paragraph, — but 
144 


A    LETTER    FROM    DOROTHY  145 

I  know  Ferny  will  find  that  before  you  go 
to  press.  Of  course,  I  think  your  draw 
ings  are  the  best,  but  Van's  are  fine,  too.  I 
think  all  of  you  ought  to  be  proud  of  such 
a  beautiful  first  issue,  and  I  am  sure  you 
will  be  able  to  keep  up  the  standard,  for, 
as  Barry  told  Perny,  it  will  go  like  clock 
work  when  you  get  to  going. 

"  You  must  n't  get  discouraged,  True. 
Your  letters,  lately,  have  been  rather  blue 
sometimes,  and  I  know  just  how  you  feel. 
But,  whatever  you  do,  stick  it  out  to  the 
end.  Don't  think  for  a  moment  of  giving 
it  up  ;  don't  do  it,  True,  after  putting  in  as 
much  thought  and  time  and  money  as  you 
have  already.  For,  after  all,  as  you  once 
said,  True,  money  is  a  great  thing, — a  lot 
of  money, — you  can  do  so  much  with  it; 
and  now,  when  we  are  almost  at  the  turn  of 
the  tide,  is  the  very  time  to  pull  hardest 
and  get  over  the  bar.  Even  if  it  takes 
every  cent  you  can  scrape  together  to  pay 
you  through,  put  it  in,  and  if  it  takes  more 
than  that  I  can  buy  a  share  and  put  in  a 
little,  too,  for  I  have  five  hundred  dollars 
that  papa  gave  me  last  August  when  I 


I46  THE   BREAD    LINE 

was  twenty-one,  and  I  will  have  five  hun 
dred  more  soon,  because  I  am  not  going 
away  at  all  this  summer,  and  papa  is  going 
to  give  me,  in  money,  what  it  would  cost. 

<f  I  thought  of  going  at  first,  and  then  I 
kept  putting  it  off  from  week  to  week, 
and  remembered  you  working  away  there 
in  the  heat  for  me,  and  I  made  up  my 
mind  at  last  that  I  would  n't  go,  either. 
Besides,  our  home  is  cool  and  beautiful, 
and  I  am  alone,  and  can  do  as  I  please,  and 
not  have  to  dress  and  go  and  be  torn  to 
pieces.  Next  summer  we  will  go  to 
gether. 

"  So  you  see,  True,  I  will  have  a  thou 
sand  dollars  of  my  own,  and  if  your  assess 
ments  take  more  than  you  have  I  will  send 
it  to  you,  and  you  can  invest  it  for  me.  I 
had  intended  to  buy  things  for  our  house 
with  it,  but  we  won't  need  it  by  that  time, 
and  the  success  of  the  paper  now  is  the 
all-important  thing.  I  did  not  care  so 
much  at  first,  but  now  it  has  gone  along 
so  well,  and  with  all  the  new  plans  and 
such  a  beautiful  paper  as  you  can  get  up, 
I  want  to  see  it  make  the  success  and  for- 


A    LKTTKR    FROM    DOROTHY  147 

tune  for  you  that  I  am  sure  it  must.  Be 
sides,  True,  won't  it  be  fine  to  own  our 
interest  together? 

"  I  know,  of  course,  that  there  are  many 
unpleasant  things  about  it, — some,  I  sus 
pect,  that  you  don't  tell  me  of, — and  that 
it  is  n't  altogether  the  money  that  bothers 
you  ;  but  you  must  put  up  with  the  burden 
and  suspense  a  little  longer,  and  with 
Bates,  who  must  be  a  dreadful  nuisance, 
though  he  surely  means  well  and  works 
hard  to  get  so  much  advertising.  I  should 
love  to  meet  the  Colonel.  The  first  little 
sketch  you  sent  me  of  him  I  have  pinned 
up  over  my  desk,  and  when  I  read  your 
letters  about  him  I  look  up  at  it  and  laugh 
and  imagine  just  how  he  looks  and  acts. 
What  a  beautiful  model  he  must  make  for 
the  picture,  and  how  glad  I  am  you  are 
working  at  it  so  enthusiastically  again! 
Perhaps  that  is  one  reason  why  you  are 
less  interested  in  the  paper,  and  worried 
over  the  annoyances  that  must  always 
come  with  the  more  practical  pursuits  of 
life. 

"  You   see,  True,    I   think  a  good  deal 


148  THE    BREAD    LINE 

about  all  these  things,  and  I  realized  even 
from  the  first  that  a  nature  like  yours  is 
not  at  all  suited  to  hard  and  shrewd  com 
mercial  enterprise,  though  this  is  not  quite 
that,  either,  and  the  hard  days  will  soon 
be  over.  Work  right  along  on  the  picture, 
True,  but  don't  think  of  giving  up  your 
interest  in  the  paper.  The  picture  will 
rest  and  comfort  you  now,  and  the  paper 
will  furnish  the  means  of  rest  and  comfort 
by  and  by.  Then,  when  that  time  comes, 
perhaps  I  shall  be  able  to  add  happiness 
to  your  life,  too,  and  together  in  our  beau 
tiful  home  we  will  add  happiness  to  the 
lives  of  others.  Good-by,  True.  Stick 
fast,  and  remember  that  I  am 

"  Always  your 

"  DOROTHY. 

"  P.S.  True,  I  can  send  the  money  any 
time,  and  you  must  let  me  do  it  if  you 
find  it  will  be  needed.  I  do  not  offer  it 
as  assistance,  but  claim  the  opportunity  of 
investment. 

"DORRY." 


XIII 

THE    HOUR    OF    DARK    FOREBODING 

WITH  the  first  days  of  September  the 
tension  became  more  severe.  Bills 
sprang  up  from  every  quarter  like  mush 
rooms,  and  while  no  one  of  them  was  very 
large  the  accumulation  was  considerable. 
The  humors  of  the  enterprise  were  not 
altogether  lost  sight  of,  however,  and  still 
furnished  some  relief,  though  there  was  a 
manifest  touch  of  bitterness  in  many  of 
their  whimsicalities.  There  were  moments 
of  individual  doubt  and  discouragement 
also — not  as  to  the  final  outcome,  but  as 
to  their  ability  to  exist  until  such  time  as 
the  crumbs  which  they  were  sowing  so 
lavishly  upon  the  outgoing  waters  should 
return  in  good  brown  loaves.  Indeed, 
149 


150  THE   BREAD    LINE 

these  were  likely  to  be  needed  presently, 
for  they  were  economizing  at  every  point, 
and  the  dairy  lunch  and  cheap  table-d'hote 
places  served  most  frequently  their  needs. 
There  were  no  more  go-as-you-please 
dinners,  and  those  of  the  past  were  re 
membered  with  fondness  and  referred  to 
with  respect. 

It  may  have  been  that  this  system  of 
diet  resulted  in  clearer  mental  vision,  or 
it  may  have  been  that  Perner's  early  busi 
ness  training  really  manifested  itself  feebly 
at  last,  and  set  him  to  thinking  logically. 
Whatever  it  was,  he  suddenly  came  out  of 
his  den  into  the  studio,  one  afternoon, 
looking  rather  pale  and  startled.  He  had 
been  through  a  hard  day  with  printers 
and  engravers,  as  well  as  voracious  col 
lectors,  whose  bills  had  an  almost  uni 
versal  habit  of  error  on  the  wrong  side. 
The  others  knew  the  conditions  and  did 
not  suspect  anything  unusual  when  he 
flung  himself  down  on  the  Turkish  couch 
and  stared  up  at  the  skylight.  Then  at 
last  he  said : 

"Boys,  it  's  a  failure.      It  won't  work!'' 


THE    HOUR    OF    DARK    FOREBODING    151 

The  others  looked  around  quickly. 

"What  is  it?  What  's  a  failure?" 
They  spoke  together. 

"  The  '  cash  for  names  ' ;  it  's  a  fallacy." 

"How?  Why?  Won't  they  do  it?" 
This  from  Van  Dorn. 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  they  may,  and  will,  probably  ; 
but  n'c  won't! " 

"Oh,  pshaw!  Perny,  what  are  you 
talking  about?" 

Van  Dorn  was  becoming  a  little  impa 
tient — it  was  his  scheme.  Perner  rose  to 
a  sitting  position  on  the  couch. 

"  Why,  look  !  "  said  he.  "  We  send  the 
paper  free  for  two  weeks  to  each  of  the 
twenty  names  sent  by  each  subscriber. 
That  's  forty  papers  free  for  every  sub 
scriber  that  comes." 

"Of  course,"  admitted  Livingstone; 
"  but  some  of  those  twenty  names — most 
of  them — will  subscribe." 

"  Certainly  ;  and  each  one  that  does  so 
will  send  twenty  more  names,  which  means 
forty  more  free  papers — forty  papers  besides 
the  fifty-two  they  are  to  receive  afterward, 
or  ninety-two  papers  in  all.  Ninety-two 


153  THE   BREAD   LINE 

papers  will  cost  us,  mailed,  something  like 
seventy-five  cents ;  the  premium  will  cost  us 
at  least  fifty  cents  more,  even  where  we 
charge  for  postage  and  packing.  Then 
there  is  the  twenty-five  cents  cash  we  pay 
to  the  sender  of  names.  Total,  one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents  outlay,  for  which  we  receive 
one  dollar  cash  in  return." 

Perner  looked  steadily  first  at  Living 
stone,  then  at  Van  Dorn.  Neither  of 
them  answered  for  a  moment,  and  both 
became  a  trifle  grave.  Then  Van  Dorn 
said : 

"  But  the  advertising,  Perny — you  for 
get  that.  Even  if  we  do  lose  money  on 
subscriptions  the  first  few  months,  we  can 
afford  it  for  the  sake  of  a  subscription  list 
that  will  swell  the  advertising  returns." 

"  By  gad,  yes,"  said  Livingstone. 
"That  's  so — the  advertising!" 

Perner  lay  back  on  the  couch  wearily. 

"Yes,"  he  admitted;  "the  advertising 
ought  to  help.  I  keep  forgetting  that.  I 
wish  Bates  would  make  a  statement, 
though,  of  just  what  he  's  done  in  that 
line.  He  talks  enough  and  seems  to  be 


THE    FIOUR   OF    DARK    FOREBODING    153 

getting  along.  He  's  kept  pretty  straight 
lately,  too." 

"  Why  don't  you  call  on  him  for  a  state 
ment?"  asked  Livingstone. 

"  Well,  I  have  meant  to,  but  he  's  so 
peculiar,  you  know,  and  I  did  n't  want. to 
offend  him." 

"  No  ;  of  course,  we  can't  afford  to  do 
that  now,"  Van  Dorn  agreed.  "  We  're 
under  obligations  to  Bates  for  placing  our 
advertising  with  Jackson.  I  don't  believe 
anybody  else  would  have  taken  it  without 
money  down.  Bates  having  worked  there 
once  is  the  reason  he  did  it." 

Livingstone  was  painting  on  his  picture 
of  the  bread  line. 

"  I  've  a  mind  to  make  one  of  these  fel 
lows  look  like  Bates,"  he  laughed,  "  out  of 
gratitude." 

"  Do  it,"  urged  Perner.  "  He  '11  be 
there  some  day  if  he  keeps  on  drinking." 

"  How  much  advertising  did  we  take,  in 
all?"  asked  Van  Dorn,  presently. 

Perner  went  somewhat  into  detail  in  his 
reply : 

"  Well,  you  see,  we  made  the  '  Sunday- 


154  THE    BREAD    LINE 

School  Union  '  a  page  instead  of  a  half- 
page  so  we  could  get  in  the  big  cut  of  the 
Bible,  and  we  took  a  half-page  instead  of 
a  quarter  in  '  Boy's  Own '  so  's  to  get  in 
the  gun  and  the  camera,  with  a  small  cut 
of  the  watch.  Then  we  took  a  page  each 
in  two  school  papers  to  get  in  the  gun  and 
Bible  both,  and  the  small  cuts  of  the  watch 
and  camera.  All  these,  of  course,  are  in 
addition  to  what  we  had  counted  on  before. 
It  amounts  to  about  thirteen  hundred  dol 
lars  in  all." 

There  were  some  moments  of  silence 
after  this  statement.  None  of  them  had 
any  superstition  concerning  this  particular 
number  of  hundreds,  and  the  amount  was 
pitifully  small  compared  to  the  figures 
they  had  used  from  time  to  time  so  reck 
lessly  in  estimating  their  returns.  For 
some  unexplained  reason,  however,  the 
sudden  reality  of  the  sum,  and  the  dead 
certainty  that  this  was  not  a  mirage  of 
champagne  or  a  fancy  of  smoke,  but  a 
hard,  cold  fact  that  had  to  be  met  with 
money,  caused  the  two  listeners  to  have  a 
cold,  sinking  sensation  in  stomachs  that 


THE    HOUR    OF    DARK    FOREBODING    155 

were  none  too  full.  Van  Dorn  was  first 
to  recover.  He  said  with  weak  cheerful 
ness  : 

"  Oh,  well,  it  is  n't  a  third  what  Frisby 
took,  and  he  did  n't  have  a  dollar." 

"Sure    enough!"   rejoiced  Livingstone. 
"  Lucky   we    don't   have    to   pay    it    now 
though."     There    was   another   period   of 
silence ;  then  he  added,  "  What  time  is  it 
getting  to  be,  Perny  ?  " 

As  there  was  no  immediate  answer  to 
this,  Livingstone  wheeled  half-way  around 
from  his  easel  for  the  reply,  and  saw 
Perner  studying  somewhat  solemnly  the 
dial  of  one  of  the  fat  "Whole  Family" 
watches.  Perner  usually  carried  a  rather 
elegant  gold  time-piece,  a  memory  of  his 
business  career,  and  the  only  one  in  the 
party.  Livingstone  was  about  to  com 
ment  on  its  absence,  but  was  restrained 
by  a  sudden  delicacy.  Perner's  watch 
might  be  out  for  repairs,  or  he  might  be 
wearing  this  ridiculous  affair  out  of  loyalty 
to  the  paper;  but  these  were  troublous 
times,  and  there  was  the  possibility  of  still 
another  solution  of  the  matter. 


156  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"Five  o'clock,"  decided  Perner,  at  last, 
"  lacking  four  minutes.  I  suppose  I  'm 
through  with  the  leeches  for  to-day." 

The  words  were  barely  uttered  when 
the  door  opened  and  a  boy  entered 
with  bills  in  one  hand  and  a  letter  in  the 
other. 

"  I  spoke  a  little  too  soon,  it  seems," 
Perner  concluded,  taking  the  envelop  which 
the  boy  had  extended  uncertainly  toward 
each  of  them  in  turn. 

The  envelop  contained  a  brief  communi 
cation—also  a  bill.  Perner  held  the  latter 
in  his  hand  while  he  ran  his  eye  hastily 
over  the  former.  Then  he  glanced  at  the 
amount  of  the  bill,  and  Van  Dorn,  who 
was  watching  him,  saw  that  he  was  rather 
white.  He  turned  to  the  boy  quite  care 
lessly,  however. 

"  You  may  leave  these.  We  will  attend 
to  them  to-morrow."  Then,  as  the  col 
lector  vanished,  he  looked  up  at  Van  Dorn 
with,  "  It  's  the  bill  for  the  advertising. 
We  are  to  pay  before  it  goes  in." 

Van  Dorn  half  rose  to  his  feet.  Living 
stone  gasped. 


THE    HOUR   OF   DARK   FOREBODING    157 

"  Listen,"  said  Perner,  and  he  read  the 
letter  to  them : 

"OFFICE  OF  JACKSON  &  MARSH,  ETC. 

"NEW  YORK,  September  2,  1897. 

"Publishers  of  the  '  \Vholc  Family]  Xew  York. 

"GENTLEMEN:  We  hand  you  herewith  net  bill 
of  your  advertising,  cash  discount  being  taken  off 
as  per  your  instructions  through  Mr.  Bates.  Upon 
receipt  of  your  check  for  the  amount  we  will  give 
our  final  O.  K.  to  the  various  periodicals,  most  of 
which  are  now  ready  for  the  press.  With  thanks 
for  your  order,  we  ask,  therefore,  that  you  kindly 
be  very  prompt,  and  greatly  oblige, 
"Yours,  etc., 

"JACKSON  &  MARSH. 
"Per  C." 

Perner  looked  up  from  the  letter  at  Van 
Dorn.  The  artist  regarded  him  a  full 
minute  in  silence.  Then  he  said  huskily: 

"Don't  that  beat  hell?" 

"  It  does,"  groaned  Livingstone.  "  Bully 
for  Bates!" 


XIV 

A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  MISS  DOR 
OTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

MY  DEAREST  DORRY:  I  have  not 
written  to  you  as  promptly  as  usual, 
because  there  have  been  other  things  that 
had  to  be  attended  to  a  good  deal  more 
promptly,  and  there  was  an  uncertainty 
about  everything  lately  that  made  what 
ever  I  might  say  to  you  more  or  less 
guesswork.  I  mean  about  the  paper.  It 
seems  that  '  cash  terms '  does  n't  mean 
when  the  advertising  is  out,  after  all,  but 
before  it  goes  in,  and  this  misunderstanding 
made  matters  about  as  lively  as  anything 
you  can  imagine  in  the  financial  depart- 
158 


A    LKTTKR    FROM    TIU'K  159 

inent  of  the  '  Whole  Family  '  office  for  a 
day  or  two.  I  think  Bates  was  mostly  to 
blame,  but  we  could  n't  say  anything  to 
him  because  it  would  expose  the  weakness 
of  our  capital ;  and  then,  we  did  tell  him 
that  we  wanted  to  pay  cash,  though  I  am 
sure  he  knew  we  understood  that  that  meant 
to  pay  as  Frisby  did — when  advertising 
came  out. 

"  However,  we  got  through  with  it.  We 
thought  at  first  we  'd  have  to  capitalize, 
but  Barry  sold  a  small  piece  of  property 
he  had  somewhere,  and  the  rest  of  us  skir 
mished  about  where  we  could.  I  did  not 
let  you  know,  because  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  go  through  with  this  as  I  began, 
whatever  happens.  It  can't  take  a  great 
deal  more  now  until  it  begins  to  come  our 
way,  and  what  you  have  said  about  stick 
ing  it  out  is  the  right  thing,  and  I  mean 
to  follow  it  to  the  letter.  With  your 
money,  however,  it  is  different.  That  is 
just  your  own,  and  as  for  having  an  inter 
est  in  the  paper,  if  I  stay  by  it,  as  I  mean 
to,  and  get  through  safely,  as  I  'm  sure  I 
can,  you  will  have  that  anyway.  We  are 


160  THE    BREAD    LINE 

going  right  ahead  now  with  matter  and 
pictures  for  the  second  and  third  issues, 
and  if  it  were  not  for  the  salaries  and  rent 
and  incidentals  we  could  feel  pretty  easy, 
for  Barry  says  he  is  sure  we  can  get  '  the 
first  round  of  the  first  issue '  from  '  the 
man  who  stands  with  his  sleeves  rolled 
up,  wiping  his  hands  on  the  prehistoric 
towel  while  he  talks/  without  the  money 
down. 

"  That,  of  course,  will  be  all  we  need, 
for  as  soon  as  the  first  few  thousand  papers 
are  out  there  will  be  plenty  of  money  com 
ing  in  for  everything.  Then  we  can  take 
it  easier,  and,  as  you  say,  Dorry,  it  is  worth 
putting  up  with  a  good  deal  to  be  able  to 
have  means  for  everything  afterward.  We 
all  appreciate  that,  now,  and  Perny  says  he 
is  looking  forward  to  the  day  when  he  can 
have  some  other  kind  of  dessert  besides 
hard-baked,  barber-pole  ice-cream,  which 
is  what  they  give  us  at  the  little  table- 
d'hote  place  where  we  have  been  eating 
dinner  lately. 

"The  Colonel  is  as  good-natured  and 
jolly  as  ever.  He  poses  for  me  whenever 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  161 

I  want  him  to,  and  allows  me  to  lend  him 
a  dollar  now  and  then,  which  I  am  sure 
comes  in  handy,  for  the  money  he  is  ex 
pecting  has  n't  come  yet.  We  give  him  a 
little  salary  now,  too,  though  we  had  to  in 
sist  on  his  taking  it.  But  he  is  enthusi 
astic  and  a  great  help,  and  deserves  it. 
He  is  getting  the  circulation  books  ready, 
and  has  bought  himself  some  new  clothes, 
though,  fortunately  for  my  picture,  he  does 
n't  always  wear  them. 

"  I  am  still  working  on  it  a  little  every 
day,  and  have  been  down  to  the  '  line  '  one 
or  two  evenings.  For  some  reason,  how 
ever,  the  work  does  n't  seem  to  have 
quite  the  feeling  the  first  sketch  had  —  I 
mean  quite  the  feeling  of  forlornness  and 
destitution.  Van  says  it  's  because  I  've 
seen  the  '  line '  lately  in  warm  weather, 
when  the  men  are  only  hungry  and  not 
cold.  That  must  be  so,  I  think,  and  I  am 
not  going  to  finish  it  entirely  until  it  gets 
cold  again,  so  I  can  get  back  all  that 
wretchedness  we  saw  on  last  New  Year's 
eve.  Perhaps  that  sounds  cruel  to  you, 
but  it  is  the  artist's  way  to  make  capital 


162  THE    BREAD    LINE 

out  of  the  emotions  of  others,  and  anyhow, 
dear,  this  is  n't  like  '  Prometheus  Bound,' 
that  we  used  to  read  at  school,  for  it  does 
nobody  any  harm  and  may  even  do 
good. 

"  It  's  likely  to  be  cold  and  bitter  almost 
any  time  after  the  1st  of  October,  but  it 
ought  to  be  very  cold,  —  I  mean  in  the  pic 
ture, — and  there  should  be  snow  or  sleet. 
I  think  sleet  would  be  better— a  driving, 
stinging  sleet,  and  a  deadly  hard  look  on 
the  pavement  where  the  light  reflects. 
There  is  something  in  the  way  a  man 
crouches  and  shrinks  from  sleet  that  you 
never  quite  get  any  other  way.  Of  course, 
I  don't  want  it  to  sleet  on  those  poor  fel 
lows,  but  I  know  it  will,  and  when  it  does 
I  must  be  there  to  see  it. 

"  You  see,  the  boys  think  this  is  the 
best  thing  I  have  done,  and  I  can't  afford 
to  fail  on  it  at  the  end,  though  I  'd  like  to 
have  it  all  done  by  Christmas,  and  it  may 
not  sleet  before  January,  or  even  then. 
But  I  'm  not  going  to  worry  over  it, — 
think  about  it,  I  mean, — for,  as  I  said,  I 
would  n't  really  want  it  to  be  very  cold 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  163 

and  sleet  at  all,  if  I  could  help  it,  only  I 
know  I  can't. 

"  How  good  and  noble  you  are,  Dorry ! 
When  I  think  about  your  not  having 
gone  away  this  summer  on  my  account,  it 
makes  me  ashamed  of  myself,  for  really  we 
have  had  a  jolly  time  here  in  town.  Van 
says  that  even  if  we  never  get  anything 
else  out  of  the  paper,  we  have  had  a  million 
dollars'  worth  of  fun,  and  it  's  about  so.  I 
am  sorry  I  have  ever  seemed  discouraged 
or  out  of  patience  with  things,  for  it  made 
you  have  a  lot  of  sympathy  with  me,  and 
though  I  liked  it,  of  course,  and  wanted  it, 
I  knew  I  did  n't  deserve  it  at  all. 

"  I  am  glad,  though,  that  the  struggle 
will  be  over  now  in  a  few  days.  Our  first 
advertising — the  '  cash  for  names  ' — comes 
out  on  the  I5th,  and  the  rest — the  pre 
mium  offers — about  the  25th.  Also  in 
our  own  sample  copies.  So  you  see,  be 
fore  the  ist  of  October  the  wheels  will  be 
turning  very  fast.  Of  course,  we  may  not 
have  quite  the  great  rush  we  expect,  but 
even  if  only  half  it  will  be  enough. 

"  Good-by,     sweetheart.      I     wish     we 


164  <  THE    BREAD    LINE 

might    be   together   these   beautiful   Sep 
tember  days.     The  parks  are  fine  now  in 
the   early   morning.     Next    year  we   will 
get  up  and  walk  out  in  them  together. 
"  With  all  my  heart, 

"TRUE." 


XV 

FINAL    STRAWS 

ONE  morning  when  the  busy  writer 
and  two  artists  who  lived  and  toiled 
together  in  apartments  near  Union  Square 
— now  the  offices  of  the  "  Whole  Family  " 
— returned  to  them  after  a  light  and  whole 
some  breakfast,  they  found  their  stairway 
full  of  girls — girls  of  almost  every  age  and 
apparently  of  almost  every  station  in  life. 
There  were  tall  girls,  short  girls,  slender 
girls,  stout  girls,  girls  of  every  complex 
ion  and  every  manner  of  dress.  Also, 
more  girls  were  constantly  coming  and 
pressing  their  way  into  the  hall.  The 
friends  stood  aghast. 

Van  Dorn  swore  under  his  breath. 

"What  is   it?"  whispered  Livingstone, 
fearfully.      "What  have  we  done  now?" 
165 


1 66  THE    BREAD    LINE 

A  flicker  of  light  flitted  across  Perner's 
face. 

"  I  guess  the  Colonel  did  it,"  he  said. 
"  He  put  a  line  in  one  of  the  papers  last 
night  for  a  few  girls  to  help  him.  I  sup 
pose  this  is  the  result." 

"  Do  you  call  this  a  few?  "  gasped  Liv 
ingstone. 

"  Well,  of  course  we  could  n't  tell  just 
how  many  would  come.  That  paper  must 
have  a  good  many  readers.  We  don't 
have  to  take  'em  all,  you  know." 

Livingstone  stared  at  the  gathering  of 
the  clans  helplessly. 

"No,"  he  commented;  "I  should  think 
not."  Then  a  moment  later  he  added 
thoughtfully :  "  I  suppose  all  these  girls 
have  to  work  to  live.  Let  's  take  all  of 
them  we  can,  fellows." 

And  Van  Dorn  asked  hopelessly : 

"  How  are  we  going  to  get  up-stairs?  " 

They  worked  their  way  through,  at  last, 
to  the  Colonel's  room  above.  It  was  filled 
to  the  edges,  as  were  the  halls  and  stair 
ways  outside.  The  Colonel  was  already 
at  his  desk — his  white  hair  tossed  in  every 


FINAL    STRAWS  167 

direction  and  a  hunted  look  in  his  eyes. 
About  him  billowed  the  eager  applicants, 
crowding  and  forcing  their  way  toward 
the  sheet  of  paper  upon  which  he  was 
having  each  write  her  name  and  address, 
both  to  show  the  style  and  rapidity  of 
penmanship,  and  as  a  means  of  finding 
the  ones  selected.  The  friends  watched 
the  proceedings  for  some  moments  with 
interest.  The  girls  regarded  them  curi 
ously.  Some  of  them  whispered  to  each 
other  and  giggled.  Van  Dorn  wedged  his 
way  to  the  Colonel's  elbow  and  said  in  a 
subdued  voice : 

"  Well,  Colonel,  this  beats  Gettysburg, 
does  n't  it?  " 

The  Colonel  affected  a  great  self-pos 
session. 

"  Oh,  this  is  nothing  at  all,"  he  laughed. 

"  I    've   been    through    this    all    my   life. 

Once    I    engaged    five   hundred    girls.      I 

won't  be  able  to   get   more  than   a   dozen 

good  ones  out  of  this  crowd." 

"A  dozen!  I  should  think  you  could 
get  a  million! " 

The  Colonel  tipped  over  an  ink-bottle 


168  THE   BREAD   LINE 

to  show  his  superior  calmness,  and  a  black- 
eyed,  rosy-cheeked  girl  jumped  back  with 
a  tiny  scream.  The  friends  made  their 
way  to  the  room  above,  where,  several 
hours  later,  Colonel  Hazard  joined  them, 
somewhat  pale  and  worn.  He  had  sifted 
out  ten  good  girls,  he  told  them,  after 
careful  examination  of  the  throng.  It  was 
learned  later  that  he  had  locked  the  doors 
below  as  soon  as  possible  to  keep  out  the 
hordes  that  continued  to  come.  Indeed, 
girls  came  singly  and  in  groups  all  day. 
Those  engaged  were  familiarizing  them 
selves  with  the  books  in  which  names  were 
to  be  entered.  On  to-morrow  the  first  ad 
vertising  was  to  appear.  Barrifield,  who 
was  temporarily  absent  from  the  city  in 
the  interest  of  his  employers,  had  arranged 
before  he  started  to  have  the  presses  going 
on  the  papers.  The  end  was  in  sight. 

In  fact,  answers  to  their  advertisements 
began  to  come  the  next  afternoon,  and  the 
proprietors  were  much  elated.  There  were 
only  a  few,  to  be  sure, — not  enough  to 
cover  the  bottom  of  the  big  mail-box, — 
but  they  indicated  that  their  offers  had 


FINAL    STRAWS  169 

been  seen  and  appreciated.  Even  Perner 
forgot  his  former  misgivings  and  rejoiced. 
The  answers  were  coming.  The  paper 
was  ready  for  the  press.  The  long- 
looked-for  hour  was  at  hand. 

At  dusk,  however,  came  a  slight  shock. 

Colonel  Hazard  came  up  with  several 
letters.  He  remarked,  handing  them  to 
Perner: 

"  There  are  some  queer  people  in  the 
world.  Read  one  or  two  of  those  letters 
aloud." 

Perner  held  one  of  the  communications 
to  the  light.  It  said  : 

GEXTLKMKX:  I  inclose  you  twenty  good  names 
of  people  likely  to  be  interested  in  your  paper. 
Please  send  me  the  five  dollars  as  promised  with 
out  delay.  My  birthday  comes  on  Saturday,  and 
I  want  it  before  that  time. 

Yours  hastily, 

BESSIE  GREEN. 

"  Humph  !  well  named,"  said  Van  Dorn, 
while  the  others  uttered  various  exclama 
tions.  "  Well,  I  'm  sorry  for  Bessie,  but 
I  'm  afraid  she  '11  be  disappointed." 

Perner  selected  another  letter. 


170  THE   BREAD   LINE 

"This  is  from  a  boy,"  he  commented; 
"  his  name  is  Robert  Bright.  You  would 
n't  suspect  it,  however,  from  his  communi 
cation. 

"GENTLEMEN:  Here  are  ure  twentie  naims. 
Now  send  mi  five  dollers,  and  dont  be  so  slo  about 
it  or  i  will  have  the  polese  on  ure  track.  I  have 
ben  foold  one  or  twise  by  advertisment  fellers  but 
this  time  i  mean  to  have  wat  is  coming." 

The  exclamations  that  followed  this  pos 
sessed  an  added  degree  of  emphasis. 
Perner  picked  up  a  third  letter. 

"  From  a  woman,"  he  said. 

"GENTLEMEN  :  I  am  sending  the  twenty  names, 
and  you  don't  know  how  grateful  I  am  or  how  happy 
it  makes  me  to  be  able  to  earn  money  for  my  little 
family,  who  are  in  need  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 
I  hope  you  can  send  me  the  five  dollars  to-night, 
and  I  am  sure  Heaven  will  reward  you  for  your 
great  undertaking." 

Nobody  uttered  a  word  for  some  mo 
ments.  Then  Livingstone  said : 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  '11  be  many 
letters  like  that?" 

And  Van  Dorn  growled : 

"  Some  people  have   n't  got  the  sense 


FINAL    STRAWS  171 

they  were  born  with.  That  advertisement 
was  as  clear  as  sunlight." 

"It  was,"  said  Perner;  "I  wrote  it 
myself." 

Nevertheless,  they  made  up  the  five 
dollars  between  them  and  mailed  a  check 
for  it  on  their  way  to  dinner.  The  next 
morning  there  were  more  answers  in  the 
big  mail-box.  The  bottom  was  quite 
covered  with  postal  cards  containing  lists 
of  twenty  names  each. 

Also,  there  was  a  letter  from  the  man 
of  the  rolled-up  sleeves,  stating  that  he 
was  prepared  to  run  some  twenty  thou 
sand  copies  of  the  paper,  and  would  start 
the  press  upon  receipt  of  a  check  for  the 
amount.  This  was  a  severe  blow,  but 
as  the  amount  was  comparatively  small  it 
was  not  fatal.  Besides,  they  had  grown 
somewhat  accustomed  to  such  things. 
They  were  not  even  surprised  when  their 
landlord,  who,  with  his  family,  occupied 
apartments  in  the  rear,  came  in  to  demand 
his  rent  in  the  middle  of  the  month — a 
thing  he  had  never  dreamed  of  doing  since 
the  first  year  of  their  occupancy.  Not 


172  THE    BREAD    LINE 

that  he  was  at  all  afraid,  he  said,  but  he 
was  only  a  poor  man  who  sublet  to  them, 
and  had  met  with  ill  fortune.  Later,  the 
Colonel  came  up  with  still  further  strange 
letters,  though  none  so  pathetic  as  the  one 
of  the  night  before. 

However,  there  were  other  complica 
tions.  People  in  small  villages  were 
sending  lists  containing  the  same  names. 
Some  of  the  lists  were  almost  identical. 
When  Perner  realized  this  he  scowled  anx 
iously,  and  lay  down  on  the  couch  to 
think. 

"  Good  heavens  !  fellows,"  he  ex 
claimed,  "  we  '11  ruin  the  nation!" 

"What  's  the  matter?  What  do  you 
mean?"  asked  Van  Dorn. 

"Why,  see  here!  People  will  be  send 
ing  in  the  same  names,  and  sending  each 
other's  names,  till  they  get  us  so  mixed  up 
we  can't  straighten  the  thing  out  in  a  hun 
dred  years!  Then  they  '11  accuse  us  of 
fraud,  and  blame  each  other  for  a  lot  of 
things,  too.  The  result  will  be  that  they  '11 
get  into  a  fight  until  the  whole  nation  is  in 
one  immense  wrangle.  We  '11  ruin  the 


FINAL   STRAWS  173 

country!  That  's  what  we  '11  do!  We  '11 
ruin  the  country  !  " 

Pcrner  had  arisen  and  was  walking  the 
floor  excitedly. 

"  I  tell  you,  Van,  your  '  cash  for  names  ' 
scheme  is  a  fallacy !  I  said  so  the  other 
day,  and  I  say  so  all  the  more  now.  I  '11 
admit  that  I  believed  in  it  and  abetted 
it  at  first.  It  looked  like  a  big  thing, 
and  we  all  thought  it  was,  but  it  is  n't. 
In  the  first  place,  we  can't  afford  it,  as  I 
told  you  before.  In  the  next  place,  the 
people  don't  understand  it,  and  we  're 
going  to  be  deluged  with  letters  like  those 
that  came  with  the  first  mail.  And  even 
if  we  could  afford  it,  and  even  if  those 
letters  did  n't  count,  we  can't  afford  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  whole  nation  by 
creating  hard  feelings  in  every  village  and 
hamlet,  that  will  finally  end,  not  only  with 
the  utter  ruin  of  our  paper,  but  in  riots 
and  rebellion  and  government  interference, 
if  not  in  one  mighty  civil  war  and  the 
total  destruction  of  the  whole  English- 
speaking  world!" 

Perner's    old    manner — the    manner    in 


174  THE    BREAD    LINE 

which  he  had  set  forth  the  scheme  on  the 
night  of  the  golden  dinner — had  returned 
to  him.  It  had  returned,  but  with  a  differ 
ence  :  then  he  had  been  painting  the  glories 
of  the  plan ;  now  he  was  depicting  its  hor 
rors.  The  ten  years'  business  experience 
had  wallowed  through  a  cloudland  of 
dreams,  but  had  materialized  in  very 
harsh  daylight  at  last.  As  for  Van  Dorn 
and  Livingstone,  they  sat  gloomily  silent. 
The  Colonel  was  first  to  express  himself. 
He  said: 

"  I  hardly  think  we  need  to  disturb  our 
selves  so  seriously.  At  the  rate  the  replies 
are  coming  I  should  say  that  there  is  no 
immediate  danger  of  upsetting  the  uni 
verse  with  our  plans.  We  have  received 
a  number,  it  is  true,  but  unless  there  is  a 
marked  increase  to-morrow,  I  may  safely 
reduce  my  force  of  assistants  by  one 
half." 

"  You  don't  think,  then,  we  '11  get  a 
hundred  thousand  lists  of  twenty  names 
each  in  reply  to  our  '  cash  for  names  '  ad 
vertisement?  "  Perner  asked — somewhat 
relieved,  it  would  seem. 


FINAL   STRAWS  175 

"  I  don't  think  we  '11  get  to  exceed  five 
thousand." 

In  fact,  they  received  somewhat  less 
than  one  thousand,  and  the  original  twenty 
thousand  papers  were  found  sufficient. 
These,  though  paid  for  with  some  degrees 
of  promptness,  were  not  immediately  forth 
coming.  It  is  the  printer's  way.  The 
"  man  with  his  sleeves  rolled  up  "  does 
not  hasten  in  the  process  of  "  wiping  his 
hands  on  the  cheerless  towel  "  even  after 
the  requested  check  has  been  received  and 
cashed.  Though  pleaded  for,  argued  for, 
demanded  at  last  violently,  the  "  first 
round  of  the  first  issue  "  did  not  arrive 
until  the  morning  of  the  24th,  at  which 
time  Colonel  Hazard  put  on  sufficient 
force  to  dispose  of  them  in  one  day. 

And  so  the  "  first  round  of  the  first 
issue  "  was  out  at  last.  Also,  on  to-mor 
row  their  premium  advertisements  would 
appear.  The  dice  which  they  had  been 
jingling  so  merrily  for  the  better  part  of  a 
year  they  had  cast,  finally,  on  the  round 
green  table  of  the  world. 


XVI 

AT    THE    END    OF    THE    RAINBOW 

/rT>HEY  were  elated  to  find  a  subscrip- 
-L  tion  in  the  big  mail-box  on  the 
following  morning;  at  least,  Perner  and 
Van  Dorn  were,  and  Livingstone,  though 
less  demonstrative,  seemed  also  gratified. 
Few,  if  any,  of  the  sample  copies  could 
have  reached  their  destination,  and  it 
must  have  been  an  early  riser  indeed  who 
had  already  seen  their  advertising  and  for 
warded  a  subscription.  When  the  letter 
was  found  to  be  from  one  Dorothy  Castle 
of  Cleveland,  the  wonder  grew. 

"  She  must  have  got  hold  of  an  advance 
copy,"  commented  Perner.  "  You  came 
from  Cleveland,  Stony ;  do  you  know  any 
Castles  out  there?" 

176 


AT    THE    END    OF    THE    RAINBOW       177 

Livingstone  thought  hard,  and  admitted 
that  the  name  sounded  familiar;  his 
people  might  know  her. 

Then  there  was  a  careful  examination  of 
the  precious  document  by  each  in  turn. 

"  I  '11  bet  that  's  a  bully  girl!"  decided 
Van  Dorn,  with  emphasis.  "  I  can  tell  by 
the  handwriting." 

"  She  is  that,"  agreed  Livingstone. 

"  Let  's  have  it  framed  and  hung  up  as 
a  souvenir,"  suggested  Perner. 

"  Give  it  to  me,"  said  Livingstone.  "  I 
have  an  idea." 

Perner  made  a  copy  of  it  first  for  the 
Colonel.  His  enthusiasm  had  returned. 

"  She  wants  a  Bible,"  he  commented. 
"  I  say,  fellows,  don't  you  think  we  'd 
better  have  a  thousand  Bibles  sent  right 
up  ?  That  seems  to  be  the  premium  they 
want." 

"  Better  wait  till  to-morrow,"  advised 
Van  Dorn  ;  "  then  we  '11  have  the  money 
to  pay  for  them  with." 

This  seemed  good  advice.  The  rest  of 
the  day  they  spent  between  the  studios 
and  the  circulation  department  below. 


178  THE    BREAD    LINE 

No  further  subscriptions  were  received, 
however,  and  though  they  remarked  to 
each  other  that  of  course  they  did  not 
expect  them,  it  was  evident  that  evening 
found  them  somewhat  more  silent  than 
usual. 

They  were  up  next  morning  early. 
Breakfast  was  a  mere  form,  and  conver 
sation  difficult.  They  made  a  pretense  of 
the  usual  banter,  it  is  true,  but  the  laughter 
sounded  spasmodic  and  strange.  The  long 
strain  upon  them  had  told. 

Perner  reached  the  big  mail-box  first, 
and  struck  it  with  his  foot.  It  rang  hollow. 
He  peered  down  through  the  long  opening 
in  the  top. 

"Empty,"  he  said;  "  postman  has  n't 
come  yet.  Perhaps  there  's  such  a  lot  it 
delayed  him,  or  they  're  sending  it  in  a 
special  sack." 

"  Maybe  the  Colonel  's  already  got  it," 
suggested  Van  Dorn. 

They  ran  up  the  stairs  like  boys.  Colo 
nel  Hazard  sat  at  his  desk,  his  assistants 
ranged  about  a  long  table  behind  him. 
Some  of  them  were  idle.  The  others 


AT   THE    END    OE   THE    RAINBOW        179 

were  entering  a  few  belated  lists  of 
names. 

"Mail  come?"  panted  Livingstone, 
breathlessly. 

The    Colonel    nodded. 

"  Came  just  as  I  did.  Met  the  postman 
in  the  hall.  Several  lists  of  twenty  names 
each,  and  two  subscriptions — two  very 
nice  subscriptions,  gentlemen,  one  from 
a  sample  copy,  one  from  the  advertise 
ment  in  the  '  Home.'  We  shall  do  nicely, 
gentlemen,  when  we  get  to  going.  It 
takes  patience,  of  course,  and  capital ; 
but  we  shall  succeed  with  time  and  per 
severance." 

They  dragged  up  the  next  flight  to  the 
studios.  When  they  were  inside,  and  the 
door  closed,  Van  Dorn  said  : 

"  Do  you  know,  the  Colonel  Js  getting 
so  he  makes  me  tired!" 

"  I  guess  he  never  heard  of  a  man  named 
Frisby,"  said  Livingstone. 

"I  '11  tell  you,"  said  Perner,  "it  's  too 
soon.  The  paper  just  got  out  yesterday. 
People  have  to  have  a  chance  to  read  it, 
first,  then  to  buy  a  money-order  and  a 


i8o  THE    BREAD    LINE 

stamp.  Even  those  that  live  nearest 
could  n't  get  their  subscriptions  in  much 
before  to-night." 

"  But  the  ones  we  Ve  already  got  did," 
observed  Livingstone,  gloomily. 

11  And  Frisby  got  in  a  thousand  dollars 
the  first  day  after  his  advertising  ap 
peared,"  remembered  Van  Dorn. 

"  Oh,  well,  that  probably  meant  the 
second  day.  I  '11  bet  he  did  n't  count  the 
first  day  at  all.  Of  course  he  did  n't." 

Livingstone  suddenly  brightened. 

"  Perhaps  that  was  n't  all  the  mail ;  may 
be  they  're  bringing  the  rest  of  it  in  a 
sack." 

There  was  a  perceptible  revival  at  this 
suggestion.      Perner  even  became  merry. 

"  Maybe  in  pots,"  he  said, — "  pots  of 
gold!" 

And  Van  Dorn,  looking  out  of  the  win 
dow,  remarked : 

"  We  're  like  Frisby  in  one  respect,  any 
way.  He  did  n't  have  a  dollar  when  his 
first  subscription  came — not  a  dollar!" 

But  the  sack  did  not  appear — nor  the 
pots.  Neither  did  they  receive  any  further 


AT   THE    END    OF   THE    RAINBOW      181 

subscriptions  on  that  day.  By  night  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  see  humor  in 
the  situation,  which  shows  that  the  bohe- 
mian  spirit  must  have  reached  a  very  low 
ebb  indeed. 

On  the  following  morning  they  did  not 
think  it  worth  while  to  go  to  breakfast, 
but  waited  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  in  a 
body  for  the  postman.  He  came  after 
what  seemed  an  endless  period,  and 
brought  quite  a  bundle  of  mail.  There 
were  a  number  of  twenty-name  lists  and 
a  quantity  of  circulars,  also  one  subscrip 
tion. 

Even  the  Colonel  appeared  somewhat 
depressed  at  this  falling  off  of  a  clean  fifty 
per  cent,  in  the  returns,  while  the  pro 
prietors  ascended  to  the  floor  above  in 
silence.  Perner  fell  into  a  chair  and 
rocked  gently.  Van  Dorn  stared  out  of 
the  window,  as  was  his  wont.  Living 
stone  walked  over  and  stood  before  his 
picture  of  the  bread  line. 

All  at  once  Perner  began  to  laugh  vio 
lently.  The  others  turned  and  stared  at 
him.  He  rocked  harder  and  laughed 


182  THE    BREAD    LINE 

louder.  The  faces  of  Livingstone  and 
Van  Dorn  became  really  concerned.  The 
latter  said  soothingly : 

"  Oh,  come,  old  man,  that  won't  do. 
You  're  overworked  and  nervous.  You 
must  take  it  calmly,  you  know." 

But  Perner  only  rocked  and  laughed 
more  wildly.  Finally  he  gasped  out : 

"I  'm  all  right!  I  have  n't  got  'em! 
But  four  subscriptions!  A  year's  work 
for  four  men,  and  one  subscription  apiece 
to  show  for  it !  The  mountain  rocked  and 
groaned  and  brought  forth  a  mouse !  Oh, 
Lord!  Ten  years'  business  experience 
and  four  subscriptions!  Twelve  months' 
hard  labor  for  two  well-known  artists, 
several  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  and  four 
subscriptions!" 

He  reeled  off  into  another  wild  fit  of 
merriment,  and  this  time  the  others  joined 
him.  The  humor  of  it  had  seized  them 
all.  Van  Dorn  toppled  over  on  the  couch. 
Livingstone  lay  down  on  a  prayer-rug  to 
laugh. 

"Four  subscriptions!"  they  shouted. 
"  And  Frisby  got  in  a  thousand  dollars 


AT   THE    END    OF   THE    RAINBOW        183 

the  first  day.  Cash  paid  for  names,  and 
four  subscriptions!  The  crown-jeweled 
watch!  The  marvelous  cracker-jack, 
double-rack,  Hackensack  camera!  Money 
for  Christmas  shopping,  and  checks  mailed 
promptly!  Oh,  Lord!  Oh,  Lord!" 

They  were  not  so  far  from  hysteria, 
after  all.  When  at  last  they  could  laugh 
no  more,  they  were  weak  and  exhausted. 

"  How  about  our  steam-yacht,  and  houses 
on  Fifth  Avenue?"  asked  Van  Dorn,  and 
this  was  followed  by  a  feeble  aftermath  of 
mirth. 

"  I  'm  glad  we  did  n't  take  vacations," 
said  Perner;  "we  '11  enjoy  them  so  much 
more  next  year,  when  we  can  go  in 
style." 

Livingstone  said  nothing,  and  his  face 
had  saddened.  Presently  one  of  the  girls 
from  below  entered  with  a  letter.  It  was 
postmarked  at  Chicago,  and  they  recog 
nized  Barrifield's  handwriting.  It  was  ad 
dressed  to  Perner.  He  read  it  aloud: 

"DEAR  PERNY  AND  ALL:  You  will  have  things 
fairly  under  way  by  the  time  you  get  this,  and  we 
will  be  already  as  good  as  millionaires. 


1 84  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"Humph!  Yes,"  commented  Perner. 
"  Better  than  some  millionaires,  I  hope ! 

"The  subscriptions  will  be  pouring  in  — 
"  See  'em  pour!"  interrupted  Van  Dorn. 
"and  the  premiums  going  out  in  a  steady  stream." 

At  this  there  was  a  general  yell  and 
another  fit  of  laughter. 

"I  am  sorry/'  the  letter  continued,  "that  we 
adopted  that  watch,  however,  for  I  have  found  a 
much  better  one  here,  and  have  got  on  the  'inside.' 
I  have  sent  on  a  number  of  them,  which  you  can 
use  where  people  call  in  person  for  their  premiums." 

"They  '11  call/'said  Livingstone.  "  'Line 
forms  up  on  the  right.  Come  early  to 
avoid  the  rush.'  ' 

"I  have  sent  them  to  you  C.O.D." 

Perner  gaped  up  at  the  others. 

"  Oh,  he  has!  He  's  sent  them  C.O.D. ! 
Um!  well,  I  don't  think  we  '11  use  many 
of  those  watches — not  this  week. 

"I  am  anxious  to  know,  of  course,  just  how 
matters  are  going,  and  if  we  beat  Frisby  the  first 
day.  Wire  me  to  this  address  just  what  we  did 


AT   THE    END    OF   THE    RAINBOW      185 

and  are  doing.     I  will  be  with  you  in  a  few  days 
more." 

"We  '11  wire  him,"  grunted  Van  Dorn. 
"  The  wire  '11  be  so  hot  he  '11  dance  when 
it  touches  him.  Beat  Frisby !  Oh,  yes ; 
we  '11  wire  him!" 

They  did,  in  fact,  at  once,  and  within  the 
hour  received  Barrifield's  reply.  It  was 
conveyed  in  a  single  brief  word : 

CHICAGO,  October  27,  1897. 
To  tJic  "  \VJiolc  Family"  Xeiv  York. 

Capitalize  ! 
(Signed)  BARRIFIELD. 

Perner  read  it,  and  it  was  handed  to 
each  of  the  others  in  turn.  Then  they 
looked  at  each  other.  Van  Dorn  said 
pleasantly : 

"  Why,  yes  ;  that  's  so.  Capitalize  !  I 
had  n't  thought  of  that.  Stony,  get  up 
here  and  capitalize!" 

Livingstone  dug  down  in  his  pockets 
and  brought  up  fifty-six  cents. 

"All  right,"  he  said.  "That  's  every 
nickel  I  've  got  in  the  world.  Let  's  cap 
italize!" 


186  THE    BREAD    LINE 

Almost  immediately  there  came  another 
telegram  from  Barrifield. 

To  the  "  Whole  Family,"  New  York. 

Don't  sell  any  of  my  stock. 

(Signed)  BARRIFIELD. 

This  promptly  sent  Perner  off  into  an 
other  fit  of  hysterics. 

"Oh,  no;  don't  sell  any  of  his  stock!" 
he  howled.  "Don't!  Don't  sell  any  of 
his  stock !  Please  don't !  Sell  mine ! " 


XVII 

A  TELEGRAM  FROM  MISS  DOROTHY  CAS 
TLE  OF  CLEVELAND  TO  MR.  TRUMAN 
LIVINGSTONE  OF  NEW  YORK 

CLEVELAND,  October  29,  1897. 
To  Truman  Livi)igstone,  c[o  tJie  "  Whole  Family  " 

New  York. 

Don't    give   up.     Check    one  thousand   to-day. 
Use  it.     Letter. 

10  paid  (Signed)  DOROTHY. 


187 


XVIII 

GRABBING   AT    STRAWS 

T3ARRIFIELD  arrived  three  days  later 
-LJ  and  began  at  once  his  effort  to  se 
cure  capital.  In  this  he  was  quite  alone, 
as  no  one  of  the  others  made  even  an  at 
tempt  to  produce  friends  of  financial  ability. 
True,  the  Colonel,  who  was  a  friend  of 
them  all,  and  who  at  last  knew  something 
of  the  situation,  declared  that  he  would 
take  a  very  satisfactory  interest  in  the  enter 
prise  if  the  money  he  was  expecting  would 
but  come.  This  event  did  not  occur, 
however,  and  matters  grew  more  pre 
carious. 

To  be  sure,  the  number  of  subscriptions 
increased  somewhat  for  a  time,  and  on  one 
day  in  November  reached  the   maximum 
:S8 


GRABBING   AT    STRAWS  189 

of  thirty-two.  This,  Perncr  figured,  would 
give  them  something  like  ten  thousand  in  a 
year  if  they  could  rely  on  that  many  every 
day.  But  on  the  next  day  the  number  was 
less  than  twenty,  and  the  tendency  con 
tinued  downward. 

As  for  Barrifield,  he  made  a  most  noble 
effort.  He  interviewed  men  of  means 
whom  he  had  known  for  many  years,  and 
others  whom  he  had  known  for  less  than  as 
many  minutes.  He  came  in  each  evening 
to  report.  He  spoke  of  capital  as  being 
''timid"  at  this  season,  but  he  never  lost 
hope.  The  others,  whose  faith  had  be 
come  a  mere  rag,  and  who  were  inclined 
to  regard  further  effort  as  a  farce,  still 
kept  on,  at  his  urging,  preparing  the  second 
and  third  issues,  though  in  a  hopeless  and 
half-hearted  way.  Some  one  has  said  that 
it  is  harder  to  stop  a  paper  than  to  start 
one.  The  proprietors  of  the  "  Whole 
Family  "  realized  this  daily.  The  money 
coming  in  was  far  from  sufficient  for  the 
expense,  but  it  served  to  prolong  the 
death  agony  from  week  to  week. 

Perner,  who  had  carefully  figured  out  by 


190  THE    BREAD    LINE 

this  time  the  impossibility  of  success  from 
any  standpoint,  was  for  quitting  forthwith 
and  getting  back  to  work.  Van  Dorn 
was  somewhat  inclined  in  the  same  direc 
tion  ;  Livingstone  also,  perhaps,  though 
he  announced  his  readiness  to  stay  in  the 
field  as  long  as  there  was  anything  to  fight 
for.  Barrifield  and  Colonel  Hazard  were 
for  an  effort  to  the  death. 

The  Colonel  was  invaluable  at  this 
period.  All  bills  that  came  were  referred 
to  him.  It  was  hard  enough  not  to  be  able 
to  meet  them,  but  what  was  still  harder, 
payment,  he  averted  with  a  skill  and  kindly 
grace  that  would  have  done  credit  to  Beau 
Brummel  himself.  The  landlord  went 
away  empty-handed  and  laughing,  and  the 
landlady,  who  called  later  with  an  offspring 
clinging  to  either  side  of  her  skirts,  was 
flattered  by  the  Colonel  into  leniency,  and 
the  offsprings  kissed  by  him  in  the  jolliest 
manner  possible.  When,  a  few  days  later, 
she  came  again,  he  said  : 

"  I  will  do  anything,  madam,  anything 
in  the  world  to  oblige  you.  I  would  even 
pay  you  if  I  could.  I  have  kissed  the  chil- 


GRABBING    AT    STRAWS  191 

dren  —  I  will  do  so  again.  I  will — if  you 
will  permit  me,  madam  —  I—  '  But  the 
blushing  landlady  had  hurried  away  laugh 
ing,  leaving  the  gallant  Colonel  and  his 
assistants — now  reduced  in  numbers  to  two 
—blushing  and  laughing  behind  her.  No 
one  could  be  offended  at  the  Colonel. 

As  for  Bates,  they  still  managed  to  pay 
his  salary,  and  he  appeared  to  be  very 
busy — also,  at  times,  very  drunk.  How 
ever,  he  kept  away  from  them  for  the  most 
part,  for  which  they  were  duly  grateful. 

Each  night  Barrifield  had  some  one  in 
view  who  would  certainly  come  to  the  res 
cue  on  the  morrow.  Each  night  it  was  a 
different  one.  The  rescuer  of  the  night 
before  had  just  invested  his  capital,  was 
just  about  to  do  so,  or  had  just  lost  largely 
on  some  former  investment.  Rushly  of  the 
"  Home,"  and  President  Bright  of  Bright 
&  Sons'  Stellar,  were  both  enthusiastic 
over  the  opportunity,  and  would  certainly 
mention  it  to  their  friends.  For  them 
selves,  it  was,  unfortunately,  out  of  the 
question  for  the  present.  Rushly  had  pur 
chased  stock  in  his  own  paper.  President 


192  THE   BREAD    LINE 

Bright,  in  conjunction  with  his  sons,  had 
made  large  additions  to  their  factory, 
etc.  Truly,  capital  was  timid — unusually 
so. 

Still  Barrifield  did  not  despair  wholly. 
He  gave  a  dinner,  at  last,  to  a  number  of 
men  who  were  believed  to  have  more  or 
less  capital  at  their  command.  At  this 
dinner  he  set  forth  his  plan  in  the  most 
magnetic  manner  and  glowing  terms. 
His  speech  made  a  decided  sensation. 
Almost  to  a  man  his  guests  declared  it  a 
good  thing.  One  of  them,  the  next 
morning,  more  conscientious  than  the 
others, — a  noble  spirit,  in  fact, — sent  in  his 
check  for  ten  dollars — the  first  assessment 
on  a  single  share. 

And  so  the  weeks  dragged  on.  Subse 
quent  rounds  of  the  first  issue  were 
handled  with  no  appreciable  difficulty  by 
the  Colonel  and  his  two  assistants,  and 
"  the  first  round  of  the  second  issue  "  they 
managed  to  obtain  from  the  printers  in 
fairly  decent  season.  But  the  third  num 
ber  dragged — dragged  horribly — dragged 
until  those  who  had  subscribed  began  to 


GRABBING    AT   STRAWS  193 

write  letters  of  inquiry  that  were  not  al 
ways  polite.  The  "  man  with  his  sleeves 
rolled  up"  came  to  the  rescue  at  last  on 
this  issue.  He  let  them  have  it  without 
the  check.  He  even  delivered  the  papers 
to  the  post-office  for  them,  and  advanced 
the  postage  from  his  own  purse. 

Matters  being  now  sufficiently  desper 
ate,  Perner  urged  daily  that  they  turn 
their  subscriptions  over  to  some  other 
publication  to  fill,  and  quit,  short  off. 
He  was  getting  frightfully  pinched  for 
means,  and  the  others,  except  Barrifield, 
no  less  so.  Barrifield  still  had  his  salary. 
To  be  sure,  they  now  had  time  in  which 
to  do  some  outside  work,  but  the  market 
had  changed  during  the  year,  and  it  seemed 
almost  impossible  to  dispose  of  matter 
which  a  year  before  the  editors  had 
fought  for. 

"Why,  a  year  ago,"  grumbled  Perner, 
"  my  quatrains  used  to  be  legal  tender  any 
where  on  Park  Row  for  a  dollar.  Now 
they  want  to  charge  me  advertising  rates 
to  print  them." 

"  Same  with  pictures,"  echoed  Van 
13 


194  THE    BREAD   LINE 

Dorn.  "  My  opinion  is  that  a  lot  of  us  will 
be  back  plowing  corn  next  spring." 

"  It  's  a  good  while  till  spring,"  reflected 
Livingstone,  gloomily.  He  was  working 
on  his  painting  a  good  deal  these  days,  and 
perhaps  getting  truer  feelings  into  it  be 
cause  of  his  own  despair. 

Barrifield  came  in  at  this  juncture,  filled 
with  the  usual  enthusiasm.  He  had 
learned  of  a  man  who  was  thought  to  be 
anxious  to  invest  in  just  such  an  enterprise 
as  the  "  Whole  Family."  He  was  going  to 
see  him  in  the  morning — he  would  almost 
certainly  come  to  the  rescue.  They  were 
discussing  this  possibility  when  Colonel 
Hazard  entered.  For  the  first  time  he 
looked  worn  and  discouraged. 

"What  's  the  matter,  Colonel?"  asked 
Perner.  "  You  look  tired." 

"  Yes,"  assented  the  Colonel ;  "  the  land 
lady  's  been  in  again  after  the  rent.  The 
landlord  was  there,  too,  this  afternoon. 
I  think  I  Ve  paid  it  in  kind  words  and 
kisses  about  as  long  as  I  can.  They  said 
we  'd  either  have  to  pay  or  give  up  the 
rooms." 


GRABBING   AT    STRAWS  195 

This  statement  cast  a  momentary  gloom 
even  over  Barrifield. 

"And  Bates,"  continued  the  Colonel, 
"  has  been  in,  too.  He  came  to  notify  me 
that  he  would  quit  to-night  unless  he  got 
his  money  for  last  week.  We  did  n't  pay 
him  last  week,  you  know.  I  should  very 
promptly  have  told  him  to  quit  had  I  felt 
authorized  to  do  so." 

'  No,  no  ;  don't  do  that !  "  protested  Bar- 
rifield,  anxiously.  "  Tell  him  to  wait  till 
to-morrow.  Tell  him  "  —  he  hesitated  a 
moment,  and  then  added  in  all  seriousness, 
"  tell  him  we  '11  raise  his  salary." 


XIX 

A  LETTER  FROM  MR.  TRUMAN  LIVING 
STONE  OF  NEW  YORK  TO  MISS  DOR 
OTHY  CASTLE  OF  CLEVELAND 

NEW  YORK,  December  28,  1897. 

DEAR,  DEAR  DORRY:  Well,  Dorry, 
it  's  all  over.  All  our  hopes  and 
dreams  have  come  to  nothing.  Perny  pulled 
down  the  sign  in  the  hall  this  morning,  and 
the  furniture  is  being  taken  out  of  the  rooms 
below  to  sell  for  whatever  it  will  bring  to 
pay  as  far  as  it  will  go  on  the  rent.  Perny 
said  he  would  n't  go  into  a  new  year  with 
this  hanging  over  us,  nor  Van  Dorn,  either, 
and  I  think  it  's  just  as  well  myself. 

"  You  see,  Dorry,  it  would  be  no  use. 
Our  plan  looked  well,  but  it  was  all  wrong ; 
and  even  if  it  had  n't  been,  it  would  have 
196 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  197 

taken  more  money  than  we  could  ever  have 
got  hold  of,  and  a  long,  long  time  besides, 
to  get  started.  Of  course,  Frisby  did  it 
without  money,  but  that  was  a  good  while 
ago,  and  he  was  first  in  the  field.  It  is 
like  a  prize  drawn  in  a  lottery  —  the  chances 
are  against  another  being  won  by  anything 
near  the  same  ticket  number.  And  then, 
even  Frisby  may  not  have  done  exactly 
as  he  said — people  don't  always  tell  things 
of  this  kind  just  as  they  happened. 

"  Barrifield  still  hopes  against  hope  that 
sometime  he  may  find  some  one  with  capital 
who  will  bring  the  '  Whole  Family  '  to  life. 
He  has  taken  the  lists  and  books  and  things 
away  to  show  to  such  people ;  but  I  think 
it  would  be  better  if  he  did  not  show  them, 
for  they  could  not  seem  much  of  an  induce 
ment  to  any  one  with  money  already  made 
and  safely  locked  in  the  bank.  The  Colo 
nel  has  gone,  too,  and  Bates,  and  the  last 
is  the  one  bright  spot  in  all  this  sad  affair. 
He  went  some  weeks  before  the  Colonel 
—  I  believe  I  wrote  you  at  the  time. 
Bates  was  a  great  trial  to  us  all — a  greater 
trial  even  than  I  ever  told  you,  for  though 


198  THE    BREAD    LINE 

I  did  not  speak  of  it  before,  he  drank  to 
excess,  and  we  also  know  now  that  he  was 
unreliable  in  many  ways.  On  all  the  ad 
vertising  he  placed  for  us  he  received  a 
commission,  while  from  the  advertising  he 
obtained  for  us  we  received  no  returns,  for 
it  was  all  taken  on  trial,  or  in  some  such 
way,  and  he  had  no  contracts  at  all  except 
the  one  of  two  dollars  I  once  mentioned. 
That  was  genuine,  and  we  got  the  two 
dollars. 

"  We  thought,  Dorry,  with  all  of  us 
together,  we  had  a  good  combination  of 
people  for  starting  a  paper,  but  I  realize 
now  that  we  probably  had  about  the  worst 
one  that  could  be  imagined.  Artists  and 
writers  can  make  a  good  paper,  and  the 
'  Whole  Family  '  was  not  bad,  as  papers 
go,  but  it  takes  somebody  else  to  run  it, 
and  even  Perny's  ten  years'  business  ex 
perience  was  worse  than  nothing  after 
being  mixed  with  about  as  many  more 
years  of  bohemia.  He  says  so  himself 
now.  The  Colonel  was  as  bad  as  the  rest 
of  us — worse,  because  he  is  older,  and  with 
him  the  habit  of  getting  rich  on  paper  has 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  199 

had  time  to  grow  and  become  fixed.  He 
will  go  on  chasing  rainbows,  I  suppose, 
until  the  end  of  his  days.  Poor  old  chap! 
When  I  shut  my  eyes  I  can  imagine  him 
in  his  frayed  clothes,  with  his  white  hair 
and  his  eager  face,  racing  madly  across 
rain- wet  meadows  for  the  imaginary  pot 
of  gold.  That  is  what  we  have  all  been 
doing,  Dorry,  and  had  our  combination 
been  ever  so  strong  and  our  feet  ever  so 
swift,  we  never  should  have  found  it. 

"  For  I  realize  a  great  many  things  now 
that  none  of  us  realized  at  the  start.  The 
cost  of  producing  a  paper  is  very  great, 
and  there  were  many  things  that  we  did 
not  know  of  at  all.  Perny  knows  all 
about  it  now,  and  has  figured  it  out  for 
me  and  Van,  so  that  we  see  clearly  at  last 
that  no  matter  how  much  money  we  had 
started  with,  or  how  capable  we  were,  we 
should  only  have  failed,  for,  unless  we 
changed  our  plans  and  charged  higher  for 
the  paper  and  gave  less  premiums,  the 
more  subscribers  we  got  the  more  we 
should  have  lost.  It  is  some  consolation 
to  know  that,  for  we  might  have  lost  a 


200  THE    BREAD    LINE 

hundred  thousand  dollars  very  easily  in  a 
year  if  we  had  had  it,  or  had  raised  it  by 
subscription,  as  we  tried  to  do.  Your  little 
thousand  would  have  been  but  a  drop  in 
the  ocean,  and  would  have  lasted  only  a 
few  days.  So  I  send  back  the  draft  to 
you,  now  that  everything  is  ended  and  you 
cannot  refuse  to  take  it.  As  for  my  part 
of  the  assessments,  I  managed  to  keep  up 
and  a  little  more,  for  I  was  still  in  favor  of 
going  on  when  the  others  had  reached  the 
limit  of  their  means. 

"  And  now  comes  the  hardest  part  of 
all.  For  oh,  Dorry  dear,  I  am  going  to 
do  what  I  once  said  I  would  do  if  anything 
happened  to  me,  or  if  the  paper  failed  and 
ruined  us  all.  I  am  going  to  release  you 
I  could  not  think,  Dorry,  after  all  that  has 
passed,  of  letting  you  come  here  now  to 
share  my  poverty.  For  that  is  what  it  is, 
dear — just  poverty;  and  poverty  in  a  big 
city  is  more  humiliating  and  deadening  to 
all  the  joys  of  life  than  it  can  possibly  be 
elsewhere.  I  have  nothing  now  but  my 
hands,  Dorry,  and  they  are  of  little  value, 
for  times  have  changed  and  there  is  much 


A   LETTER    EROM    TRUE  201 

less  work  than  formerly.  I  have  less  even 
than  that,  because  there  are  some  debts 
that  have  accumulated  and  must  be  paid. 

"  I  never  realized  what  riches  were  until 
I  had  them,  —  I  mean  until  I  thought  I  had 
them,  which  was  the  same  thing  while  it 
lasted,  —  nor  what  poverty  meant.  And 
Perny  says  so,  too,  and  Van.  Barry,  of 
course,  still  has  his  salary.  But  I  realize 
now,  and  I  am  not  going  to  let  you  leave 
comfort  and  plenty,  without  care,  to  come 
here  and  share  only  privation  and  care, 
without  comfort,  with  me.  It  breaks  my 
heart  to  give  you  up,  Dorry,  but  I  know 
it  is  right,  and  while  you  might  still  be 
willing,  if  I  asked  it,  to  fulfil  your  promise 
to  me,  and  do  not  realize  all  that  it  would 
mean,  I  cannot  ask  you  —  I  cannot  allow 
you — to  do  it. 

"  Some  day,  Dorry,  things  may  be 
different  again.  Some  day,  if  we  both 
live  and  you  are  still  free,  and  still  care, 
I  may  come  to  you  and  ask  you  to  give 
me  back  your  promise.  For  you  are  free 
now,  Dorry.  I  would  be  less  than  I  am 
if  I  did  not  give  you  your  freedom  now, 


202  THE    BREAD    LINE 

after  holding  out  to  you  all  the  promises 
of  wealth,  and  leading  you  to  believe  in 
all  my  vain  dreams.  How  beautiful  you 
were  through  it  all!  You  only  thought 
of  others.  Dear  heart,  what  will  the  poor 
poets  and  artists  do  now  without  the  beau 
tiful  place  you  were  going  to  build  for  them  ? 
I  suppose  they  must  always  be  poor 
dreamers  like  me  to  the  end,  and  it  is 
that  poverty  and  that  end,  darling,  that  I 
cannot  ask  you  to  share. 

"  Good-by,  Dorry.  We  have  been 
friends  from  childhood,  and  friends  we 
must  still  be,  for,  whatever  comes,  I  am 
always 

"  Your  faithful 

"TRUE." 

"P.S.  I  believe  I  wrote  you  that  your 
Christmas  remembrance  came.  I  thank 
you  for  it  once  more.  It  is  very  beautiful. 
I  thought  you  might  care  for  the  book 
because  it  is  an  autograph  copy.  I  must 
not  forget  to  wish  you  a  happy  and  beau 
tiful  New  Year.  It  will  be  different 
from  what  we  had  planned — different  from 


A    LETTER    FROM    TRUE  203 

the  year  just  passed,  which,  I  suppose, 
has  been  happy,  too,  though  I  would  not, 
for  some  reasons,  wish  to  repeat  it.  I  for 
got  to  tell  you  about  my  picture.  I  am 
only  waiting  for  a  cold  sleet  to  come,  so  I 
can  finish  it.  I  had  intended  it,  you 
know,  for  Perny's  Christmas,  to  hang  over 
his  desk  in  the  new  house ;  but  there  is  no 
new  house,  and  he  would  not  let  me  give 
it  to  him  now,  so  I  shall  try  to  sell  it. 

"TRUE." 


XX 

THE    BARK    OF   THE   WOLF 

IN  the  studios  near  Union  Square,  where 
two  artists  and  a  writer  lived  and 
toiled  together,  there  was  an  atmosphere 
of  heavy  gloom.  It  was  a  bitter,  dark 
day  without,  for  one  thing,  raw  and  windy, 
while  within  there  was  little  in  the  way  of 
cheerfulness  besides  the  open  fire,  which, 
for  economy's  sake,  was  not  allowed  to 
manifest  any  undue  spirit  of  enterprise. 
Being  the  last  day  in  the  year — a  year 
that  had  not  been  overkind  to  them — also 
added  something  to  the  feeling  of  pervad 
ing  melancholy,  and  the  fact  that  no  one 
of  the  three  had  eaten  since  the  previous 
evening  was  not  conducive  to  joy. 

They  were  not  altogether  without  hope. 
204 


THE    HARK    OF   THE    WOLF  205 

They  had  tobacco,  such  as  it  was,  and 
coal  for  the  time  being.  Food  was  more 
or  less  of  a  luxury  compared  with  these. 
They  had  scraped  together  their  last  frac 
tional  funds  and  invested  them  in  neces 
saries.  Then,  too,  there  was  to  be  more 
money;  not  much,  of  course, — there  was 
not  much  money  anywhere  now, — but 
enough  to  satisfy  for  a  time  the  gaunt 
wolf  that  was  marching  up  and  down  in 
the  hall  outside,  pausing  now  and  then  to 
grin  up  at  the  spot  where  the  sign  of  the 
"  Whole  Family  "  had  hung,  and  show  his 
gleaming  white  teeth.  It  was  Van  Dorn 
who  had  pictured  the  situation  in  this 
manner,  and  added : 

"  I  'm  afraid  to  go  out  in  the  hall 
after  dark,  for  fear  he  '11  get  me  by  the 
leg." 

And  Perner : 

"  I  think  we  'd  better  invite  him  in. 
Maybe  he  's  brought  something." 

Livingstone  looked  wearily  in  the  fire. 

"  I  wish  the  '  Decade  '  would  send  me 
that  check  they  promised  to-day,"  he 
muttered  presently. 


206  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"  And  '  Dawn '  the  one  they  were  to 
send  me,"  said  Van  Dorn. 

"And  the  'Columbian'  mine,"  echoed 
Perner.  "  If  I  thought  I  could  get  it  now 
by  going  over  there,  I  'd  go." 

"  Too  late,  Perny  ;  they  're  closed.  You 
should  have  got  it  when  you  were  there 
yesterday." 

"  Yes,  I  know ;  but  I  thought  some  of  us 
would  surely  get  one,  and  I  did  n't  want 
to  appear  broke.  I  suppose,  if  they  'd  men 
tioned  it,  I  'd  have  been  fool  enough  to 
have  said,  '  No  hurry — any  time — I  don't 
need  it.'  " 

Van  Dorn  regarded  Perner  gravely. 

"Perny,"  he  said  severely,  "it  is  my 
opinion  that  you  did  say  those  very  words. 
Were  you,  or  were  you  not,  offered  a  check 
yesterday  in  the  '  Columbian  '  office?  " 

"I  were  not!  Though  I  believe  there 
was  some  mention  of  having  it  made  out 
if  I  wished  it,  and — " 

"  And  you  told  them  that  any  time  next 
week,  or  next  month,  or  next  year  would 
do !  Let  in  the  wolf,  Stony ;  we  're  be 
trayed." 


THE    BARK    OF   THE  WOLF  207 

"  Well,"  said  Perner,  "  it  '11  be  next 
year  before  it  's  next  week,  anyway." 

Livingstone  arose  and  marched  up  and 
down  the  floor. 

"  Don't  do  that,"  said  Van  Dorn. 
"  It  '11  make  you  hungrier." 

"  I  suppose  Barry  's  gone  home,"  re 
flected  Perner,  "  has  n't  he,  Van,  by  this 
time?  " 

"Yes;  and  he  lives  seven  miles  beyond 
the  bridge — too  far  to  walk  to-night." 

Livingstone  paused  in  his  exercise. 

"  I  believe  there  's  one  more  mail,"  he 
said  ;  "  is  n't  there,  fellows  ?  " 

"Why,  yes,  that  's  so! "  declared  Perner. 
"And  if  there  is  n't,  go  down  anyway. 
Maybe  somebody's  put  something  in  the 
Colonel's  mail-box  that  we  can  eat  or  sell." 

Livingstone  disappeared  and  was  gone 
for  some  minutes. 

"  I  guess  the  wolf  's  got  him,"  said 
Perner. 

Then  they  heard  him  coming  three  steps 
at  a  time. 

"Bully!"  said  Van  Dorn.  "That 
means  a  check!" 


208  THE   BREAD    LINE 

"A  check,  sure  as  the  world!"  echoed 
Perner,  joyfully. 

Livingstone  plunged  in — his  face 
flushed,  his  eyes  shining,  and  an  open 
letter  in  his  hand. 

"  How  much  is  it?"  asked  Van  Dorn 
and  Perner  together. 

Livingstone  regarded  them  as  if  he  did 
not  understand. 

"  How  much  is  what?  "  he  asked — then 
added  joyously  :  "Oh,  yes — oh,  no  ;  it  is  n't 
from  the  '  Decade  ' — it  's — it  's  a  letter  !  " 

Van  Dorn  and  Perner  rose  grimly.  Van 
Dorn's  voice  was  very  stern. 

"And  what  do  you  mean,"  he  de 
manded,  "  by  looking  as  you  do  now  over 
a  letter — simply  a  letter  ?  ' 

But  Livingstone  was  in  no  wise  daunted. 

"Sit  down,  Van!  "  he  shouted,  "you 
and  Perny !  I  Ve  always  wanted  to  tell 
you,  and  never  could  quite  do  it  before. 
Sit  down  now,  and  I  '11  read  you  this 
letter!  It  's  from  the  girl  that  sent  in 
our  first  subscription.  It  's  the  best  letter 
that  was  ever  written — from  the  best  girl 
that  God  ever  made!" 


XXI 

THE    LETTER    LIVINGSTONE    READ 


MY  OWN  I 
der  if  v 


DEAR  FOOLISH  TRUE  :  I  won- 
you  think  that  because  we  have 
all  been  asleep,  dreaming  wonderful  dreams, 
— chasing  a  rainbow,  as  you  say, — that  it 
is  going  to  make  any  real  difference  in 
our  lives  now  that  we  are  awake.  It  may 
seem  to  make  differences  for  a  time — tri 
fling  differences  in  trifling  things ;  it  may 
even  give  us  something  to  look  back  on 
and  laugh  about — something  in  the  way 
of  experience  that  to  such  as  Van  and 
Perny  and  yourself  may  be  of  use  as 
material :  but  as  to  making  any  vital  dif 
ference  in  whatever  makes  life  full  and 
beautiful  and  worth  having,  and  that  is 
love, — our  love  for  each  other,  I  mean,— 
14  209 


210  THE   BREAD    LINE 

why,  True,  the  very  thought  of  it  is  so 
absurd  that  I  try  not  to  be  offended  with 
you  for  even  thinking  it. 

"  Do  you  remember,  True,  long  ago, 
when  you  first  wrote  me  about  the  paper, 
and  I  wrote  you  that,  while  I  was  glad  for 
your  sake,  I  was  not  enthusiastic  over  the 
undertaking?  That  was  my  real  self, 
True,  and  was  from  the  heart — the  same 
heart  that  is  more  enthusiastic  now  over 
the  failure  of  it  all  than  it  ever  was  over 
the  beginning.  If  I  was  dazzled  for  a 
time  by  the  fair  colors  in  the  sky, — if  I 
seized  your  hand,  and  with  you  and 
Barry  and  Perny  and  Van  and  the 
Colonel  went  racing  down  the  wet  mea 
dows  for  the  pot  of  gold, — it  does  not  mean 
that  I  am  any  the  less  glad  to  wake  up 
now  and  find  that  life  is  something  better 
than  all  that;  that  true  life  lies  in  doing 
conscientiously  whatever  we  can  do  best ; 
that  such  dreams  only  serve  to  make 
our  best  work  better,  and  that  still  better 
than  all  of  these  is  youth  and  love — 
our  youth,  True,  and  our  love  for  each 
other. 


THE    LETTER    LIVINGSTONE    READ    211 

"  No,  True  ;  I  am  not  going  to  take  back 
my  promise.  What  do  you  suppose  I  care 
for  the  few  dollars  you  have  lost  ?  You  are 
no  less  good  and  noble  —  no  less  capable 
than  before  ;  and  as  for  the  times,  they 
will  change — they  always  do.  It  almost 
hurts  me  to  realize  that  you  could  think  I 
would  ever  let  you  send  me  off  even  for 
what  you  considered  my  own  good.  And 
I  will  not  go,  you  see.  You  can't  send 
me  away— unless,  indeed,  you  do  not 
want  me  any  more,  and  then,  of  course, 
you  will  say  so,  and  I  will  go.  Forgive 
me,  True ;  I  do  not  mean  that ;  but  I  must 
punish  you  the  least  bit  because — because 
I  am  a  woman,  I  suppose. 

"  And  now,  True,  about  this  draft  for  a 
thousand  dollars  which  I  am  sending  back 
to  you.  It  was  right,  of  course,  for  you 
to  hold  it  as  you  did  when  you  felt  that  it 
could  do  no  good,  and  it  is  better  to  have 
it  now,  when  it  will.  I  want  you  to  have 
it  cashed  at  once,  and  let  Van  and  Perny 
have  just  whatever  they  need  of  it  to  tide 
them  over,  and  I  want  you  to  help  the 
Colonel,  too,  if  you  can  find  him.  Then 


212  THE    BREAD    LINE 

you  are  to  take  the  rest  of  it,  and,  after 
using  whatever  you  need  for  yourself,  go 
out  and  find  the  smallest  and  cheapest 
little  apartment  in  New  York  that  we 
can  live  in.  Furnish  it  with  the  fewest 
things  you  can  buy,  and  if  there  is  any 
money  left,  we  will  take  a  wedding  trip 
on  it  just  as  far  as  it  will  take  us.  Then 
we  will  come  back  to  our  little  apartment, 
you  will  go  back  to  your  beloved  art, 
and  we  will  start  really  as  Mr.  Frisby  did 
this  time  —  without  a  dollar!  I  have 
no  preparation  to  make.  Let  me  know 
when  you  are  coming  and  I  will  be 
ready. 

"  And  now,  True,  go'od-by,  with  the 
happiest  of  New  Years  for  you  and  your 
good  friends,  who  will,  I  am  sure,  be  my 
good  friends,  too,  though  I  take  you  away 
from  them  in  part.  I  wonder  if  it  would 
be  right  for  me  to  say  I  am  glad  we 
failed?  I  am  afraid  that,  even  if  it  is 
wrong,  it  is  the  truth.  I  know  it  is ! 
There  are  many  things  that  we  could  do 
with  wealth,  but  there  are  so  many  things 
so  much  sweeter  that  we  might  not  have ; 


THE    LETTER    LIVINGSTONE    READ    213 

and  oh,  dear  True,  I  am  only  a  woman, 
and  selfish,  after  all. 

"  Always  and  always  your 

"  DOROTHY. 

"  P.S.  I  almost  forgot  to  thank  you  for 
the  autograph  volume.  You  could  not 
have  pleased  me  more. 

"DORRY." 


XXII 

THE    BREAD    LINE 

EVINGSTONE  did  not  read  quite  all 
the  letter.  There  were  lines  and 
paragraphs  here  and  there  that  he  en 
tered,  stumbled,  and  backed  out  of — 
taking  at  last  a  road  around  that  was  so 
evidently  his  own  as  to  make  Perner 
remark  once  : 

"  Don't  revise,  Stony ;  you  can't  im 
prove  on  the  original." 

And  when  he  had  finished,  none  of  the 
three  spoke  for  at  least  a  minute.  Then 
Van  Dorn  said  huskily : 

"  I  knew  she  was  a  bully  girl  when  she 
sent  that  subscription— I  could  tell  by  the 
writing." 

And  Perner  added : 
214 


THE    BREAD    LINE  215 

'  That  subscription  letter  is  mine, 
Stony.  As  acting  manager  of  the  '  Whole 
Family  '  I  claim  it." 

Then,  all  at  once,  they  had  hold  of 
Livingstone's  hands,  and  when  the  three 
faced  the  fire  again  it  reflected  in  their 
eyes  with  unusual  brightness. 

"  I  can't  get  it  cashed  to-night,"  Living 
stone  reflected  presently;  "it's  too  big." 

"  No  ;  and  you  are  not  to  get  it  cashed 
any  night  until  you  find  that  apartment," 
said  Van  Dorn. 

Perner  nodded. 

"  Van  and  I  are  grateful,"  he  assented, 
"  but  with  our  few  wants,  and  our  mar 
velous  talents,  coupled  with  my  ten 
years'  business  experience — " 

"  But  you  have  n't  had  any  dinner,  nor 
any  lunch,  nor  breakfast,"  interrupted 
Livingstone,  speaking  as  one  who  had 
himself  fared  sumptuously. 

"  A  letter  like  that  is  worth  more  than 
a  good  many  dinners,"  said  Van  Dorn. 

"Yes,"  agreed  Perner;  "it  is — to  all  of 
us." 

The  faces  of  the  two  older  men  had  be- 


216  THE    BREAD    LINE 

come  reminiscent.  Perhaps  they  were 
remembering — one  a  wife,  the  other  a 
sweetheart — both  memories  now  for  a 
dozen  years  or  more. 

"  Boys,  do  you  recollect  the  dinner  we 
had  a  year  ago  to-night?"  This  from 
Livingstone. 

The  others  nodded.  They  were  re 
membering  that,  too,  perhaps. 

"Then  the  bread  line  afterward?"  said 
Perner.  "  We  gave  them  a  nickel  apiece 
all  around,  and  were  going  to  give  them  a 
dollar  apiece  to-night.  And  now,  instead 
of  that—" 

"  Instead  of  that,"  finished  Van  Dorn, 
"  we  can  go  down  to-night  and  get  into 
the  line  ourselves.  Light  up,  Stony  ;  we  '11 
take  a  look  at  your  picture,  anyhow." 

There  was  a  brisk,  whipping  sound 
against  the  skylight  above  them.  It  drew 
their  attention,  and  presently  came  again. 
Livingstone  arose  hastily. 

-Sleet!" 

He  spoke  eagerly,  and  looked  up  at  the 
glass  overhead.  Then  he  added  in  a  sort 
of  joyous  excitement: 

"Fellows,    let    's    do    it!       Let    's    go 


THE    BREAD    LINE  217 

down  there  and  get  into  the  line  our 
selves!  I  've  been  waiting  for  this  sleet 
to  see  how  they  would  look  in  it.  Now 
we  're  hungry,  too.  Let  's  go  down  and 
get  into  the  line  and  see  how  \\.  feels  !  " 

Van  Dorn  and  Perner  stared  at  him  a 
moment  to  make  sure  that  he  was  in  ear 
nest.  There  was  consent  in  the  laugh 
that  followed.  The  proposition  appealed 
to  their  sense  of  artistic  fitness.  There 
was  a  picturesque  completeness  in  thus 
rounding  out  the  year.  Besides,  as 
Livingstone  had  said,  they  were  hungry. 

They  set  forth  somewhat  later.  There 
was  a  strong  wind,  and  the  sleet  bit  into 
their  flesh  keenly.  It  got  into  their  eyes 
and,  when  they  spoke,  into  their  mouths. 

"  I  don't  know  about  this,"  shouted  Van 
Dorn,  presently.  "  I  think  it  's  undertak 
ing  a  good  deal  for  the  sake  of  art." 

"Oh,  pshaw,  Van,  this  is  bully!"  Liv 
ingstone  called  back.  He  was  well  in 
advance,  and  did  not  seem  to  mind  the 
storm. 

Perner,  who  was  tall,  was  shrunken  and 
bent  by  the  cold  and  storm.  His  voice, 
however,  he  lifted  above  it. 


218  THE    BREAD    LINE 

"  Art ! "  he  yelled.  "  I  'm  going  for  the 
sake  of  the  coffee!" 

The  line  that  began  on  Tenth  Street  had 
made  the  turn  on  Broadway  and  reached 
almost  to  Grace  Church  when  they  ar 
rived.  The  men  stood  motionless,  hud 
dled  back  into  their  scanty  collars,  their 
heads  bent  forward  to  shield  their  faces 
from  the  sharp,  flying  ice.  Strong  electric 
light  shone  on  them.  The  driving  sleet 
grew  on  their  hats  and  shoulders.  Those 
who  had  just  arrived  found  it  even  colder 
standing  still.  Van  Dorn's  teeth  were 
rattling. 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  's  always 
enough  to  go  round?"  he  asked  of 
Perner,  who  stood  ahead  of  him. 

Talking  was  not  pleasant,  but  the  waif 
behind  him  answered : 

"  Was  n't  last  night.  I  was  on  the  end 
of  the  line  and  did  n't  git  no  coffee. 
Guess  there  '11  be  enough  to-night, 
though,  'cause  it  's  New  Year." 

"  If  they  don't  have  coffee  to-night  I  '11 
die,"  shivered  Perner. 


THE    BREAD    LINE  219 

Livingstone  stood  ahead  of  Perner  in 
the  line. 

"  If  it  stops  with  me  I  '11  give  you 
mine,"  he  said.  "  I  'm  not  hungry,  nor 
cold,  either." 

The  waif  in  front  of  him  and  the  waif 
behind  Van  Dorn  both  made  an  effort  to 
see  Livingstone. 

"What  are  you  doing  here,  then?" 
growled  the  man  behind.  He  saw  that 
the  three  ahead  of  him  were  better 
dressed  than  the  others  and  regarded 
them  suspiciously.  "  What  did  you  fellers 
come  here  for,  anyway?" 

There  was  a  chance  for  a  final  joke.  It 
fell  to  Perner : 

"  We  've  been  keeping  up  a  whole 
family,"  he  chattered, — "several  whole 
families.  Now  we  're  broke." 

"  You  can  have  my  place  in  the  line," 
added  Livingstone,  and  they  changed. 

The  incident  attracted  little  attention. 
Storm,  cold,  and  hunger  had  deadened 
the  instinct  of  curiosity  natural  to  every 
human  bosom.  Presently  Livingstone 


220  THE    BREAD    LINE 

leaned  forward  and  murmured  to  Van 
Dorn: 

"  Look  at  that  old  chap  ahead  yonder 
— around  the  corner.  How  he  crouches 
and  shivers!  Is  n't  that  great?  " 

Van  Dorn  looked  as  directed — then 
more  keenly. 

"Good  God!"  he  said,  "it  's  Colonel 
Hazard!"  He  leaned  forward  to  Perner. 
"Isn't  that  the  Colonel,"  he  asked, - 
"that  old  fellow  just  around  the  corner, 
with  his  collar  full  of  sleet?" 

"By  gad,  it  is!"  decided  Livingstone. 

"  We  '11  take  him  back  with  us,"  said 
Perner.  "  Poor  old  Colonel !  " 

The  waif  from  behind  was  talking 
again.  He  had  turned  around  so  they 
could  hear. 

"  Last  New  Year  there  was  some  blokes 
come  along  an'  give  us  a  nickel  apiece  all 
round.  I  was  on  the  end  an'  got  two. 
When  they  went  away  one  of  'em  said 
they  was  comin'  back  to-night  to  give  us 
a  dollar  apiece." 

"  They  won't  come,"  said  Perner. 

"How  d'  y'  know?" 


THE    BREAD    LINE  221 

"  We  're  the  men." 

"  Aw,  what  yeh  givin'  us?" 

"  Facts.  We  've  started  a  paper  since 
then." 

A  party  of  roisterers  came  shouting 
across  the  street. 

"  Come  and  have  a  drink,"  they  called. 
"  Come  on,  you  fellows,  and  have  a  drink 
with  us ! " 

A  number  of  men  left  their  places  in 
the  line  and  went.  Perner  watched  one 
of  them  intently. 

"  If  that  fellow  is  n't  Bates  you  can 
drink  my  coffee,"  he  said,  pointing. 

Van  Dorn  and  Livingstone  looked,  but 
could  not  be  certain.  They  did  not  see 
him  return. 

It  \vas  somewhat  after  midnight,  and 
the  chimes  of  Grace  Church,  mingled  with 
a  pandemonium  of  horns  and  whistles, 
were  still  roaring  in  the  glad  New  Year, 
when  they  finally  obtained  the  brown  loaf 
and  the  cup  of  hot  coffee,  which  by  this 
time  they  needed  desperately.  The  bread 
they  thrust  under  their  coats,  and  some 
minutes  later  were  in  the  studios. 


222  THE    BREAD    LINE 

Colonel  Hazard  was  with  them.  He 
had  maintained  a  wonderful  self-posses 
sion  when  overhauled  at  Fleischmann's. 

"  Excellent  place  to  study  character," 
he  remarked,  after  the  first  moment  of 
surprise.  "  I  come  here  now  and  then 
for  the  feeling." 

And  Van  Dorn  had  answered : 

"  I  've  got  enough  to  last  me  forever!" 

The  coals  were  still  red  in  their  grate, 
and  over  them  they  toasted  the  bread. 
For  a  while  they  attended  to  this  busily, 
and  talked  but  little.  Then  came  the  to 
bacco.  It  was  like  heaven. 

Presently  Perner  told  the  Colonel  of 
some  Egyptian  articles  wanted  by  the 
"  Columbian." 

"They  offered  them  to  me,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  took  them,  because  I  have  n't  had 
the  courage  to  refuse  anything  lately.  But 
I  had  you  in  mind  at  the  time  to  help  me 
on  with  them,  and  now  I  've  something  else 
on  hand,  I  '11  turn  them  over  to  you  alto 
gether,  if  you  '11  take  them." 

The  Colonel  was  very  near  to  losing  his 
quiet  dignity  at  this  news.  He  was 


TIIK    I1KEAI)    LINE  223 

obliged  to  clear  his  throat  several  times 
before  replying.  At  last  he  said,  quite 
naturally  : 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  oblige  you,  Mr. 
Perner — very  happy  indeed."  Then  he 
turned  suddenly  and  shook  Perner's  hand. 

They  talked  on.  By  and  by  the  Colonel 
refilled  his  pipe  and  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

"  Fortune  is  a  fickle  jade,"  he  said.  "  I 
have  won  and  lost  her  seven  times.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  shall  ever  do  so  again  — 
it  takes  money  to  make  money.  Such 
resources  as  I  have  are  not  at  present 
convertible  into  cash.  Speculation  with 
out  capital  may  win,"  he  continued,  "but 
the  chances  are  much  against  it.  It  takes 
money  to  start  anything,  even  a  paper,  as 
you  gentlemen  can  testify." 

The  others  assented  silently. 

"  I  might  have  told  you  that,  in  the 
beginning,"  Colonel  Hazard  went  on, 
"  had  you  asked  me.  Of  course,  I  did 
not  know  the  true  condition  of  affairs 
until  a  state  of  dissolution  had  been 
reached.  I  could  have  advised  you  from 
past  experience  and  observation." 


224  THE   BREAD    LINE 

The  Colonel  drew  a  number  of  luxuri 
ous  whiffs  from  his  pipe.  The  others 
only  listened.  The  Colonel  resumed : 

"  I  knew  a  man  some  years  ago  who 
started  a  paper  with  forty  thousand 
dollars  in  cash  and  an  excellent  scheme — 
premiums  similar  to  yours.  He  spent 
that  forty  thousand,  and  another  forty 
thousand  on  top  of  it — money  from  his 
people.  Then  he  borrowed  all  he  could 
get,  at  any  rate  of  interest.  He  was 
bound  to  make  it  go,  and  he  did  make  it 
go  at  last;  but  when  the  tide  turned  and 
commenced  to  flow  his  way  he  did  n't 
have  a  dollar — not  a  dollar!" 

Colonel  Hazard  looked  into  the  fire  and 
smoked  reflectively. 

"  Humph!"  commented  Perner,  "that 
part  of  it  was  like  Frisby." 

The  Colonel  turned  quickly. 

"  Frisby — yes,  that  was  his  name. 
Why,  do  you  know  him?" 

"What!" 

The  others  had  shouted  this  in  chorus, 
and  were  staring  at  the  Colonel  stupidly. 

"  Why,  yes,"  he  repeated,  looking  from 


T1IK    15KKA1)    LINE  225 

one  to  the  other ;  "  Frisby  of  the  '  Voice 
of  Light.'  I  saw  a  copy  of  it  lying  here 
on  the  table  one  day.  It  's  a  big  prop 
erty  now.  Do  you  know  him?" 

Perner  had  risen  and  was  standing 
directly  in  front  of  the  Colonel. 

"  We  do,"  he  admitted.  His  voice 
sounded  rather  unusual  in  its  quality,  and 
he  spoke  very  deliberately.  "  At  least, 
we  know  of  him.  It  was  what  happened 
to  Frisby,  or,  at  least,  what  we  heard  hap 
pened  to  Frisby,  that  we  were  banking  on." 

"  By  gad,  yes,"  put  in  Livingstone. 

"  What  did  you  hear  happened  to 
Frisby?"  asked  the  Colonel,  quietly. 

"  \Ve  heard,"  continued  Perner,  "  that 
Frisby  bought  the  '  Voice  of  Light '  with 
out  putting  down  a  dollar — that  he  did  n't 
have  a  dollar  to  put  down — that  he  con 
tracted  for  papers  and  advertising  without 
a  dollar — that  he  did  n't  have  a  dollar 
when  his  first  advertising  appeared — that 
he  got  a  thousand  dollars  in  the  first  mail, 
and  six  thousand  dollars  in  one  day! 
That  's  what  we  heard  happened  to 
Frisby." 


226  THE    BREAD    LINE 

Colonel  Hazard  rose  and  walked  across 
the  room  and  back.  Above  him  the  gray 
of  the  New  Year  lay  on  the  sleet-drifted 
skylight  like  the  dawn  of  truth.  He 
paused  in  front  of  the  fire  and  regarded 
the  three  listening  men. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  it  did  n't  happen  to 
us,  did  it?" 


XXIII 

THE  LAST  LETTER— TO  MR.  AND  MRS. 
TRUMAN  LIVINGSTONE,  OLD  POINT 
COMFORT,  VIRGINIA 

DEAR  PEOPLE :  You  can  go  right  on 
to  Florida  or  to  any  other  seaport 
where  honeymoons  shine  upon  summer 
seas  from  skies  that  are  always  cloudless. 
You  can  go,  and  with  our  permission,  as 
soon  as  you  get  this  letter,  and  you  may 
stay  as  long  as  the  inclosed  check  lasts- 
provided  you  first  buy  your  return  tickets 
for  New  York. 

"  You  see,  the  '  Bread  Line  '  sold  at 
Macbeth's,  and  this  is  the  net  result.  It 
is  a  good  deal  more  than  the  picture  is 
worth,  but  then,  if  people  will  go  on  being 
so  unreasonable  in  their  tastes,  I  suppose 
227 


228  THE    BREAD    LINE 

you  will  have  to  go  on  profiting  by  it. 
Van  and  I  went  up  to-day  to  take  a  last 
look  at  it.  You  can't  paint  much,  old 
man,  but  after  living  with  that  picture  a 
year,  and  knowing  all  that  it  means,  it 
was  n't  quite  easy  to  part  with  it. 

"  Well,  times  are  some  better.  Van 
made  a  comic  series  of  some  fellows  run 
ning  a  paper,  and  sold  it  to  '  Dawn.'  It 
was  ripping!  I  am  just  finishing  a  story 
on  the  subject  for  the  '  Decade.'  They 
are  going  to  have  you  illustrate  it.  The 
Colonel  is  well  on  with  his  Egyptian 
articles. 

"  Van  says,  when  you  can't  go  any 
place  else,  come  home  and  be  forgiven. 
As  ever, 

"  FERNY. 

"  P.S.  Barrifield  was  just  in,  and  sends 
you  his  'best.'  And  now,  listen!  He 
has  disposed  of  the  lists  and  good  will  of 
the  '  Whole  Family  '  to — whom  do  you 
think?  Why,  to  Frisby,  of  course,  who, 
in  return,  will  fill  out  our  subscriptions 
with  his  new  paper,  entitled 

'THE    ROAD    TO    FORTUNE.'" 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 
JAN  2  02001 


12,000(11/95) 


M15320 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


THE  BREAD  LINE 

A  STORY  OF  A  PAPER 


ALBERT  BIQELOW  PAINE 


